


Grow up, Heather. Witchcraft is so 87'.

by orphan_account



Category: Heathers (1988), Heathers: The Musical - Murphy & O'Keefe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, F/F, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Supernatural Elements, The almighty - Freeform, Vampire Duke - Freeform, Werewolf Mac, also i update every week, and Heather Chandler, and mac is nicer, duke isnt a total asshole, monster au, she is a mythic witch
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2020-10-14 20:57:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 19,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20607203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: There's something weird about the Heathers. Veronica can't quite place it, but the general feeling of uneasiness is a small price to pay for entry into the highest clique in school.One day, though, she'll figure it out.The supernatural au nobody wanted but got written anyways.Enjoy!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Please keep in mind that this is my first fanfic and i'm only writing it for fun. Please leave a comment so that I can figure out the rest of the plot and all that.

Veronica jolted to consciousness in fourth period, realizing that she had completely disassociated for the whole morning. She rubbed her eyes and the vignettes around her field of vision faded away. The bell rang with a shrill shriek, and she clambered out of her seat to reach the cafeteria in time with the Heathers.

“God, Veronica, what happened to you? You look like a goddamn train wreck!” Heather Chandler scoffed, readjusting her signature red bow, “I swear, every day it seems more and more like you’re trying to erase what we’ve done for you.” Veronica blinked, the words making their way to her mind as she tried to process the sarcastic remark.

“Oh! Uh, yeah, I was in a rush this morning, sorry…“ she trailed off, still out of it.

“It’s okay! We can fix it!” Giggled the ever-bubbly Heather McNamara as she sat down. Heather Duke rolled her eyes beside her, and settled down with her copy of Moby Dick.

Ever since Veronica had joined the Heathers, school life had been so different. Before, she- as well as the rest of Westerberg- saw them as celebrities, people who didn’t seem quite human enough to get to know, but now, she realized, that it wasn’t just their personas that seemed… off.

Take Heather McNamara, Mac for short to the Heathers, and the smallest of the trio. Head Cheerleader and maybe the strongest, fastest, most athletic person in the school. Rumour has it that she once beat both Kurt and Ram in an arm-wrestling competition. At the _same time_.

Or Heather Chandler, her ever-graceful poised walk, perfectly calculated to be nonchalant and impressive at the same time, the way she seemed to glide across the hallway floors. How the sparks in her eyes could silence someone with a mere glance.

Heather Duke, actually, seemed rather ordinary, her dark round sunglasses that she’s never seen without, but if you’d ever felt her skin you would have noticed how she was always icy-cold, even in the hottest summer day.

The little things you wouldn’t notice were what really set off Veronica’s anxiety.

_No time for daydreaming now though_, she thought to herself as Mac and Chandler shuttled her to the bathroom and started doing her makeup and hair, fingers flying through her frizzy hair, brushing and curling until not a single stray strand was to be seen. It was really a work of magic how they could do that so effortlessly. _Years of practice, I suppose_, she joked to herself.

“So I’ve been thinking about joining an after school sport or something. I mean really, for being the part of the most popular clique in the school, I do a shockingly small amount of extracurriculars. What do you guys think I should do? maybe like, drama or choi-” Veronica yelped as Heather Chandler tensed and yanked at her hair, comb scratching her scalp. Mac’s hand slipped while applying Veronica’s eyeliner. After hastily apologizing and wiping it away, she remarked to Veronica,

“Are you sure that’s a good idea, Veronica? Especially considering...” Mac snapped her mouth shut, eyes widening for a split-second. Fear, maybe?

“Considering what?”

“Oh! Right.” Mac winked at Veronica, who made a very confused face at the other Heathers.

“Wh-“

“Alright, you look… decent now. Let’s go.” Chandler said stiffly.

Dear Diary,

The rest of the day passed without incident but… the way the Heathers responded to me wanting to do theatre… why would they be so against it? I don’t understand. It’s probably nothing, one of the heather chandler's enemies or something I don't need to worry about. still, it feels odd. No. It’s nothing. Or is it? NO! God, I sound like a psychopath. Fuck. Anyways, I wonder what’ll happen tomorrow. Oh, and now that I'm popular and shit, don't expect me to write in you as often. Bye for now, Veronica Sawyer.

“I can’t believe Veronica thinks joining a group that sings, in fucking _public_, to _dozens of people_, with no goddamn explanation is just an absolute fucking golden idea.” Chandler ranted. “What happened to being anonymous and shit? Like holy _fuck, _I can't believe she had the goddamn _nerve_ to ask us! Like as _if_ the answer could have been anything other than no, you dumb fucking bitch.”

Mac leaned over to the green-clad girl sitting next to her. ""Hey, Heather? What did we decide that Veronica was? I forgot."

"Siren." Duke mumbled, not bothering to look up.

"Oh. Right."

_ **BRRRRING!** _

The school bell for the end of classes rang loud and clear as Veronica hurried out of the school. It was Friday, and a short day at that, and she was absolutely ecstatic to spend the rest of the day hanging out with Mac. They would be having a sleepover, and it would be a blue moon that day too! She smiled, looked at her collection of stargazing gear. Even though Mac seemed a bit hesitant to accept the invitation, Veronica was sure it would be a great time.

Veronica stepped up the stairs to her room holding a plate with some cups of cocoa- it’d always been her favourite drink, since she never seemed to be able to get into coffee. Too bitter, really. Plus, it gets you all hyper, and who wants that?

“Mac! I’m back!” Veronica spoke, closing the door with her foot behind her.

“Oh! Perfect! Is that coffee?” Mac asked, taking a mug and having a sip.

“Nope. Hot cocoa. I don’t really like-“ Veronica was cut off by Mac spitting out her cocoa. “What the hell? Why would you spit out your cocoa?”

“Sorry.” Muttered Mac, wiping her mouth on her sleeve. “I’m allergic…”

“Oh! Well, why didn’t you say so?”

“I… Didn’t think it would be important.”

“Hey, since when have you been allergic to anything, especially chocolate?”

“Since about 15. Not long ago, actually.” Mac giggled bashfully. “I’m still not really used to it…”

“You ever wish you were human, Veronica?”

Veronica paused for a moment, caught off guard by the question. After deciding that it was likely an analogy, she responded,

“We’re alone tonight, you can be human with me if you want.”

“Oh. Ronnie… You seem tired, maybe we should go to sleep.”

“Nah. Hey, what movie do you want to watch? It’s not exactly a movie, but last week, I found a really good bootleg of Hamilton, if you want to watch that.” Veronica answered herself unthinkingly, knowing her interests in musicals wasn’t likely to be reciprocated, judging by yesterday’s reaction from the Heathers.

“Oh, okay! I’m not as into theatre as you are, but if it makes you happy…” murmured Mac as she bundled up in her blanket pile. Not even a half-hour in, Mac was already asleep, despite the energetic songs playing on the TV. Turning the sound all the way down, Veronica quickly slipped into her sleeping bag on the floor, since Mac had already fallen asleep on the living room sofa.

A heavy sleeper, Veronica slept soundly throughout most of the night, having only barely woken up at midnight for a cup of water. Upon returning to the living room, she found an empty sofa with only a pile of blankets on it. She rubbed her eyes. Nothing. No blanket cocoon, no quiet snoring rumble, no blonde hair strewn outside of the pile. Veronica frowned and pulled the heavy comforter aside.

“Clothes? Why are there clo-“ Veronica questioned but froze on noticing a small muzzle poking out of the pile. She shook her head. It was still there. She pulled more blankets back, and gasped when she saw a small gold-furred dog. “Is that a dog? Is that a fucking dog. Are you serious. A fucking dog.” She muttered, rubbing her temples as the small dog squirmed out of the pile onto the sofa. She pulled out her phone but hesitated, seeing the time and decided against it. “My parents wouldn’t be up now anyways- it’s like 3am there, and they’re on a plane. I guess I’ll just wait till they get back tomorrow…”

She flopped onto the sofa, pushing the pile off the couch but cocooning herself in the soft blanket. Half-asleep, she felt the small, fluffy pup nestle into her arms. Too tired to complain, she closed her eyes and felt herself drift into a hazy dream.

Veronica woke up to strange popping and cracking noises. She sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes and staring in disbelief at what she saw.

The dog appeared to still be asleep, now on top of the sleeping bag, but she could tell the sound was coming from it. She winced sympathetically as its body contorted, growing bigger and longer, before gasping in surprise as she realized what was happening.

“Oh!”

Within minutes, she watched the fluffy golden fur on its body recede, its nails growing shorter and flatter on its paws, which quickly turned back to hands and feet. Its ears became smaller and rounder at the tips, as they moved down its face. Its muzzle grew shorter, the hair on its face and neck disappearing, while the fur at the top of its head grew longer and curlier, until she was finally able to recognize the person lying on the comforter in her room.

She yawned, stretching out on the blanket, before her eyes fluttered open.

“Morning,” she hummed as she met Veronica’s shocked gaze.

“Oh my god,” she whispered. “What the fuck? So you’re, what, a werewolf?”

“Well… yeah. I got bit and turned like a few years ago. I thought you knew-”

“So not only do werewolves exist, but my best friend has been one for years. I knew something was up, but this?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh my god. This is real. This isn’t a dream, this is actually happening.” Veronica kept muttering this over and over to herself, reeling from this new knowledge. She pulled her diary out from its hiding spot under the couch, clicked the pen, and began to write.

Dear Diary!

Wow, today’s already been a real rollercoaster and ive barely woken up. Apparently werewolves exist?? And not only that, but _HEATHER MCNAMARA_ is one. I had no idea!! Man, everything else just seems trivial now compared to that, huh. Not sure what else to write, so I guess... bye till next time, diary. See ya soon, Veronica Sawyer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The werewolf transformation bit is taken from thewishingdragon's fic, "f*** me gently with a silver bullet". i highly recommend reading that, by the way.


	2. Chapter 2

“These sensors are just useless! It’s like I’m not even here!” Exclaimed Heather Duke, waving her hand beneath the grimy school soap dispenser. “Forget this, I’m just gonna use hand sanitizer.”  
  
“Yeah, those things are disgusting. Can you believe that we’re supposed to use them?” Chandler chittered, shaking her head. “Veronica, why're you shivering so much? What do you think you’re doing?”

Veronica wondered if she should tell the other Heathers about McNamara’s secret. She decided against it- what if they told someone else? She knew how quickly Heather Chandler jumped on every mistake of Duke’s. Everything made sense now. The near-superhuman abilities she had, how she could never come over on the full moon, and her hatred of Chandler's affinity for silver.

“N-Nothing! I’m fine, just… tired, you know?” She grasped for an excuse. “I was studying.” 

“Yeah, right? Nothing worse than a bio quiz.”

“I know! It’s already unfair that we have to have a huge test with only like, a week to study, much less one that counts for like, 30% of our grade!” Duke whined.

“Shut up, Heather.” Snapped Heather Chandler.

“Sorry, Heather.”

“Heather, what should we do on Wednesday? There’s another Remington on Friday, but we're free till then."

“Oh! We could go to the beach! I know Heather always wants to go to the beach, coz she’s so cold inside.” McNamara laughed.

“Heather, you can’t just insult people like that. I know you’re friends but it’s still kinda rude.” Veronica mumbled to Mac, feeling the weight of the Heathers' confused glances.

"Eh, it's fine. I'm used to it."

The bright sun shone brightly and harshly on the group as they huddled beneath the parasol's shade. Heather Duke had laid out blankets, but in this weather, there was no way in hell that anyone else would go out of the cool shadow.

Chandler stood, dramatically clutching the parasol's pole as if she was a sick victorian noble, while Mac sat beneath in the shade, tracing circles in the soft sand with a long stick she'd picked up on the way.

“So are any of you going to actually swim?” Duke drawled, warming herself on her beach chair.

“Swim? And mess up-“ Heather paused to flip her hair “- this perfect hair? I don’t think so, honey.”

Veronica felt the stiffness in Heather’s words as her eyes shifted and glinted beneath her sunglasses. Veronica could never figure out how Heather’s eyes always shone so brightly, even beneath her glasses.

“What about you, Veronica? Why don’t you go swim with Heather.”

“Oh, I, uhh… can’t swim.” Chandler and Mac both shot her confused looks, and Veronica cursed in her mind. _I mean, it's true. 17 years and I still sink like a rock whenever I try to swim, but it sounded like an excuse. God, why can’t I just act normally for once, _she chastised herself.

“Oh really? Show us.” Heather Chandler looked at her, venom in her voice and eyes blazing.

Veronica felt herself walking towards the water, unthinkingly following Heather’s command. She waded in to her knees, to her waist, to her shoulders until she realized that she was walking into the lake. _The fuck was that?_ She thought.

Heather Chandler stood beneath the parasol, arms crossed, staring at Veronica walking into the water._ Any day now, she’ll have to start transforming.’_She thought to herself. Was that a scale? No, just a trick of the light. She groaned and sat down next to Heather McNamara. “What’s taking so long? Yours was over in no more than 5 minutes! Well, nowadays at least.”

“I’m not sure… I think sirens might need to be fully submerged or something? Yeah, that sounds about right.”

Veronica ducked her head beneath the waves for a moment, tugging a piece of kelp off her leg.

“Then what was that, Heather?”

The two sat, confused, as Veronica mucked around on the shallow end of the water.

“Heather, go get me a seashell.” Mac was confused for a second but, knowing better than to question Heather, nodded and ran off.

Upon returning, Heather Chandler held the shell, quietly murmured some words to herself, and silently blew into the shell like a horn.

A huge wave picked up Veronica and tossed her deeper into the lake. “What the_ fuck?_” She shouted before going underwater, flailing and waving her arms and legs for help. She slammed into the pebbled sand below, feeling the rocks scrape her back. She spun around, going further from the safety of the beach, were it seemed like nobody was noticing her predicament.

“Heather, she doesn’t look so good…” Muttered Mac worriedly as she watched Veronica flail around in the lake. “Are you sure she can-“

“Of course she can swim! She’s a goddamn siren, for fuck’s sake.”

“But what if-“

“But what if what, Heather?”

“What if she’s not?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OooOOOooOOOh a cLIFFHANGER oHnO


	3. Chapter 3

A look of horror dawned on Chandler’s face as Mac sprinted to Veronica. Chandler rushed over not a second later and the two hoisted her out of the water.

“_Are you okay?!"_

“_No_?!?! What the fuck was that wave? It just comes out of nowhere, sweeps me off my fucking feet, and just throws me underwater! I can’t fucking swim!”

The two Heathers shared a worried glance as they helped Veronica over to the blankets. The sun was softer now, luckily, and the weather was nice and warm.

Veronica coughed up water and sand, annoyed, sure, and tired, but overall physically fine, it seemed.

Then the Heathers saw her leg.

Veronica’s left leg had a huge, horrible gash, running from near her knee all the way down to her ankle. It wasn’t bleeding very much, fortunately, but the cut was still deep and gruesome. Veronica hadn’t noticed, likely in shock, judging by the complaints being about the sand in her mouth.

Heather Chandler took a deep, shuddering breath as she combed her fingers through her own hair.

“Heather! Get me my purse.”

  
  
“Your purse? But what would-“ Veronica started to say.

“Heather? Just get it! It’s in the car.” Heather Mac nodded gravely and dashed towards the car.

Chandler rubbed her hands together, slowly at first, and then faster and faster as, like her eyes, they started emitting a dull crimson-red glow, not unlike the blood that was spilling onto Heather Duke’s blankets. Veronica’s awestruck and fearful face almost made the fact Heather would be absolutely fucked over the next morning worth it.

She waved them over the injury. The bleeding lessened and red-stained sand flew out of the wound, to the ground, the air, and, much to Heather’s disappointment, her face.

“Can’t do much without my fucking plants. When the fuck is Heather getting back?”

As if on cue, Heather McNamara skidded through the sand holding Heather’s purse in front of her.

Heather grabbed it from her hand and quickly rifled through the purse, taking out what looked to be… a school notebook? Occasionally checking Veronica’s expression and the furiously rifling through the worn, dog-eared pages, she pulled out a handful of plants and stuffed them in her mouth, chewing.

Heather Duke’s face ran through an entire spectrum of emotions, from surprise, to flaming intensity, to cold disappointment, and she didn’t seem to realize what was going on until her face turned into a look of terror. “Oh my god, is she gonna be okay?”

“Shut up, Heather!” Shouted Chandler through her mouthful of herbs. She spat them out onto her hand and began to rub them on Veronica’s wound, focusing intensely. The herbs glowed a duller red, more like rust, and Veronica’s wound began to close, skin netting together like thread as Heather’s increasingly pale skin started to shine with sweat from the effort of the magic, the bright glow in her eyes glowing duller and duller by the second. Slowly but surely, the gash had knit itself together, leaving a faint pinkish-white scar in its place.

Then Heather collapsed.

“What the _fuck_ was that!” Shouted Veronica to Heather, Heather, and the Heather lying on the sand, but was quickly muffled by Duke’s hand on her mouth.

“Sssshhhhhhh. Not so loud! Someone might hear!” She hissed into Veronica’s ear. “We’ll talk once we get to Heather’s-“ she nodded towards Chandler “house, okay?”

“Okay…” whimpered Veronica. This past week was running circles in her mind as she tried to wrap her head around the series of events. First Mac, then Chandler... was Duke one of them too?

Mac lifted Heather’s limp body effortlessly and carried her to the car, where she laid her down in the backseat as the others got in front.

“What the fuck was that?!” Veronica nearly screamed.

Heather Duke muttered to herself in Korean, a language all but intelligible to Veronica, but she heard a few key words- Heather, Veronica, and… Siren? Veronica would’ve inquired further, but Duke’s hands were pale from how much she was gripping the steering wheel, and she looked like she was about to kill someone with the intense, scrunched-up expression on her face, and Veronica quickly decided against it.

They pulled up to Chandler’s house and hurried to get inside, thankful that they had Chandler's purse. They lay her down on her bed and Veronica took a deep breath before yelling “CAN SOMEONE _PLEASE FUCKING EXPLAIN WHY I DON’T HAVE A BIGASS GASH ON MY LEG ANYMORE?_” Mac winced from the loud noise and Duke shot her a death glare, pulling Heather slightly closer to her.

“Heather’s a witch, Heather’s a werewolf, and in case you haven’t noticed-“ Duke paused to take off her sunglasses and pointing to her bared teeth- no, her fangs, “-I’m a vampire. We thought you were a siren, since you could do forgeries, had the guts to talk to us in the first place, and somehow made Heather fall for you within two minutes, but,” she exhaled quietly. “Apparently not. A shame, really, it would’ve been fun to have another.”

“But- how- _wh- WHAT?!_” Veronica shuddered, taking a halted inhale in a useless attempt to calm herself down.

“I’m not sure how else to explain it, Veronica.”

  
  
“But- Vampires! Witches! Werewolves! Those are myths! They don’t actually exist!”

The glares from the two Heathers quickly told her that she was absolutely wrong.

“Okay, o_kay_, you’re telling the truth. But- at the beach? In the sun? Aren’t vampires supposed to burn in the light?”

“Only if it goes in my eyes directly. That’s why I wear sunglasses.”

“Wait, don’t vampires not need to eat? Then what's with your-”

“How about you ask Heather something?” Duke snapped, a little too quickly for either of the others' liking.

Veronica blinked, taken aback, but knew better than to dig further. “Oh. Err... So, Heather, can you do it at will? The whole transformation-y thing, that is.”

“Nah. Can't even do parts of my body without the full moon. I’ve only been, well, shifting, I guess, for about 2 years, and I don’t remember anything from the first year and a half, give or take. Once I figured out why I kept waking up all scratched up and bleeding, I asked Heather about it and she made me a potion to help. I can’t stop myself on the full moon, though, even with Heather’s help.” She gripped her arms to stay focused. "It's... not fun."

“Oh. And Heather?”

“She can do basic magic, but really, she’s probably the least powerful of the three of us. She does get to control when she’s affected by it though, so she has that.” Mac glanced at Chandler, lying on her bed with a look of intense jealously. “Anything else?”

  
“Not for now, I think.”

“Wow, you’re taking this better than I thought.” Duke interjected. “Honestly. It’s like you knew it alread- oh. _OH_. That’s why you were freaking out on Monday! You had a sleepover on the full moon, you must’ve seen Heather tranform, so you started to suspect us, which made us suspect you more, which… Oh man, it all comes together!”

“Wow. That was… fast.”

“Yeah. With all the ‘Heather’, ‘Heather’ and ‘Heather’ing, you have to get good at context clues.”

“Huh. I guess.”


	4. Chapter 4

The next day, Veronica noticed Chandler’s face of pure exhaustion, looking like she was having a massive headache and hangover, covered only barely by layers and layers of concealer. Still, it was chaos- but now that Veronica knew the Heathers’ secret, everything seemed to make sense.

Heather Mac’s upright posture, poised as though she wanted to leap at every piece of crumpled paper that soared across the math classroom, her flinching at the sudden, piercing shrill of the school bell signalling the end of class.

Heather Duke’s reflection in the mirror barely there, flickering like a ghost, the room around her seeming just a little chillier than the rest of the school.

Heather Chandler’s voice, dipped in poison and charms, making those listening want to do exactly what she says, or her constant scribbling in a notebook during class rather than paying the slightest bit of attention.

They stopped by Heather Duke’s house before the Remington party to freshen up. Heather McNamara groaned, stretching out on Heather’s sofa as Duke looked through her closet. Chandler disappeared into the bathroom to redo her makeup.

Veronica sat down next to Mac.

“Come on, people! Party’s starting _now_. Lets’ get going!” Shouted Heather Chandler, somehow already at the door, ready to leave, despite just arriving. Duke zipped over to her, and after a sigh, so did Mac. Veronica stood up and the four of them left for Remington.

The party seemed to only last a split second to Veronica, but Chandler’s already destroyed state wasn’t helped by her taste for hard alcohol and they left a bit early.

Heather McNamara woke up to her room, her pastel walls comforting her. She stretched out on her bed, breathing softly. She remembered when she tried to shift- as Veronica had called it- on purpose the first time. She had been with both Heathers, near midnight. She could recall the night vividly.

“Heather, come on. We don’t have all day!” That would be Chandler- they had been 16.

“I’ve never done this before! Cut me some slack.”

“Fine. But hurry up.”

She had laid down in a clearing in the middle of the woods, the bright full moon ever-present above them. She didn’t notice anything at first, but when Heather Duke gasped, she knew it had started. The pain came in a jolt before fading away. She shook on the ground, bones crackling and popping and twisting and breaking as they rearranged themselves. It was like an out-of-body experience. She knew she should’ve been writhing in pain, but she felt nothing.

Her teeth sharpened, becoming fangs and her ears travelled up her head, becoming pointy and fuzzy like a dog’s. Fingers shortening, becoming golden paws, her hair growing and wrapping around her into fur. That was all Heather could remember about the transformation- she whited out soon after that. Heather says it was the most gruesome and disgusting thing ever though.

According to Chandler, once the transformation finished, it reared up on its two hind legs, looming above both Heathers, and slammed onto all fours, growling at them, and had to be pinned down and force-fed a dark potion that the Mythic Witch herself made in case of this exact situation. Mac remembered what happened after that.

She had started to shrink, growing smaller and smaller and yet smaller until her previously intimidating figure was just a regular-sized Labrador. It was an insane experience, from start to finish. She had come to the realization, after that night, that the last summer’s wolf sightings were her. She still felt strange within her own body, as every thing she did felt like it was muscle-memorized, despite her own complete confusion of how to act.

She distinctly remembered it looking hazy in her eyes, the edges of her vision fuzzy. She couldn’t move her own body, but knowing what was happening around her was a thousand times better than wondering what she had done over the full moon.

She had reared backwards, scared by the two Heather’s bright colours. Duke reached out her hand, and she sniffed it hesitantly, pushing her head up against her palm. Chandler held her hand in a loose fist, waiting for the dog to come greet her. Mac wanted to go to her, show her that she was still in there, but the dog, intimidated by the bright red overcoat, stayed closer to the calmer greens and aquamarines of Heather Duke. She'd lorded it above Chandler for weeks.

Heather snapped out of her flashback, noticing the overly loud sounds of crickets outside her window. She held a hand up to her head and noticed that her ears had shifted while she had been zoning out. She put all her effort into changing them back, and after about 15 minutes of intense concentration, they returned to normal. She smiled. She’d have to tell the others about that later.


	5. Chapter 5

Heather Duke had been a vampire for a while. She used to be obsessed with Dusk, a stupid sappy love story between a human and a vampire, but after being turned, she could only laugh at how inaccurate it was. She ran her tongue over her fangs. She still wasn’t used to them, and kept biting the inside of her cheek.

She wasn’t bitten there, no- the trio were the only supernaturals in Sherwood they knew- rather, Duke had been turned before she had moved to the town-at-nowhere-street. She was in 8th grade, running her school like now, when her parents had forced her to go see a counselor. She’d never met him before, but she had heard that he wasn’t going to help. Her parents, as she had been told, were having her go for “Anger Issues” after punching another student.

They were trying to push the class against her. She wouldn’t take that. She wouldn’t be weak. So that’s what she told the counselor.

After nodding and taking notes, he turned to her. “It’s pointless. Why try to be something you’re not? It’s okay to be a weak, breakable, powerless piece of glass?” He smiled, and Heather felt something huge and angry swell up in her stomach. She lunged at the man, but with one swift move, he grabbed her and sunk his fangs into her neck. “You’ll be a fine specimen. I’ll tell your parents you have to move.” He wiped his mouth and ushered her out of his room.

She left the office feeling dazed, but her demeanour had completely changed. Her stubbornness and excitement and energy had disappeared, leaving only her ambition and burning hunger for power.

She was drained in more ways than one, and left with her unchecked moxie and a new take on the length of time. So when Heather Chandler invited her to join her 'exclusive club', she gladly accepted, being perfectly primed for the long game.

Heather Chandler, unlike the others, had been born with her magical abilities, passed down for generations. It had skipped her mother, but her grandmother taught her all she needed to know about witchery and the occult.

She really only knew the basics, but “the basics” covered lots when it’s about magic. Lots of fantasy was correct, actually, with the wands and the materials and such. Practicing was god-awful, with incantations and wand movements, “energy channeling” and other stuff that Ms. Fleming would have been all over.

She relished the rush of power she got when she cast, but she always knew that the amount of effort it took usually wasn’t worth the short surge of strength she got. She’d always had an affinity for healing magic, ironically enough. Came in handy when she had a hangover, sure, but otherwise, she never had a chance to use it.

Her spellbook, a torn and ragged school notebook, contained a handful of spells passed down from witch to witch in her family. Luckily, the Chandler family line was one of the purest in the world, so her innate magical ability let her do a lot of minor things even without her wand or even a spellbook. Duke insisted it was basically the same as the “Prestidigitation” spell in Dungeons and Dragons. God, what a geek.

Every witch had a different magic colour- it just so happened that hers was red. Her family tended to have red shades, and nobody really knew why. Mostly, it was just an indicator of the use of magic, the flowing energy through their veins glowing a shimmery colour. Her wand was made of mahogany- fitting, at this point. Heather didn’t even like red that much. She preferred pink. ’Too soft’, her grandmother had said.

‘You need a strong colour! Like red. Red commands power. Pink is for pansies’ she had spat. It rattled in Heather’s head- pink is weak. She hadn’t worn it since.

She liked brewing potions better than casting, too, but that was also considered ‘weak’. After they had passed away, Heather had to teach herself how to make potions. Practicing was ungodly boring, with solid days upon weeks of testing mixtures and brews, until she found the effect she was looking for. She cultivated a nice small garden, with herbs and plants she could use for her potions and as conduits for spells. It was fun, having something productive to do rather than sit in her room.

Felt better in the garden too, the mossy rune-carved stones she kept in a circle surrounded by silky-soft vines and lamb’s ear leaves, the rumble of cars and her parent’s constant arguing a mere whisper of the wind in her solitude. It was nice to be alone for once, not surrounded by the screaming sounds of high school, the bright, fluorescent colours of their jackets, only her, by herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ughhhh. not feeling very good about this chapter, the transformations are weird, the dialogue is stiff,, please help
> 
> schools started,, i won't be posting very often. :(
> 
> another thanks to purplepluto, who helps me with writing whatever this is


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> just a bit of self-indulgent text fic :). maybe from now on, 1k words a week, post on saturdays? how does that sound? let me know pls! :)

macncheese has added almighty, V. Sawyer, and Green to the conversation.

macncheese has named the conversation “nachos, babey!”

macncheese: made a chat since apparently we don’t have one with Ronnie???

almighty: why the fuck is that your username veronica

almighty: why are the texts green who has a fucking samsung

Green: Me

almighty: shut up heather

almighty removed Green from the conversation.

almighty: not in my good christian group chat

V. Saywer: I’m so confused

almighty: you should be. she is disgracing our chat

macncheese added Green to the conversation.

almighty: anyways mac what were ya gonna say

V. Sawyer: Why. Why would you make this. Please no.

macncheese: I'm just... oh my gosh, I’m so tired from that I just wanna. Die

V. Sawyer: nO

Green: she doesn’t mean it idiot

V. Sawyer: Fuck

almighty: wow a swear? from the goody-goodiest two shoes ive ever fuckign seen? woah

V. Sawyer: shut up.

almighty: bitch

macncheese: stop noooooo,,,, :(

almighty: ugh fine.

V. Sawyer: fine

almighty: no i end the conversation hahA

Veronica closed out of the app with a sigh, tossing her phone behind her onto her bed and opening her book, the sparkling stars in the twilight sky glowing dimly in the corners of her eyes. She still wasn’t sure how she felt about the Heathers' secret. What was she feeling? Envy of their magical abilities? Sympathy for the hiding that they’d have to endure all their life? Anger for them not telling her?

All of them, she decided. She’d marked the full moons on her calendar, so that she’d know when Heather Mcnamara’d be shifting, so Veronica could visit her. She made sure to always invite Heather Duke into her house whenever she came over, and to make sure Heather Chandler kept her emotions in check so that she wouldn’t explode with magic.

It was stressful, but not nearly as bad as she thought it would’ve been. Pleasantly surprising, really. Bored our of her mind, she pulled out her phone again and rejoined the app.

V. Sawyer: Back.

almighty: well well look who decided to join us.

macncheese: dont be mean!

Green: She’s right tho

V. Sawyer: Screw you both.

V. Sawyer: I’m so fucking bored pls h elp, I beg of you.

Green: go die, coward

almighty: GDSAHGFJHGAF IM THE ONLY ONE WHO GETS TO SAY COWARD, COWARD

macncheese: lmao

V. Sawyer: ughhhh y’all are the worst

Green: Hey! No

V. Sawyer: God if someone doesn’t give me something to do right now I stg Im gonna read some fanfiction and force you all to read it too

macncheese: I have something you can do ;)

V. Sawyer: wAIT NO

Veronica blushed furiously, face turning a deep shade of pinkish-red that even Heather Chandler would approve of. She tapped like lightning on her screen, trying to make a legible message rather than a simple “gsahjdfsdfsad”.

V. Sawyer: I DIDNY MWAN UT LIKE THST NO

V. Sawyer: FUCK

almighty: lmaoooo

Green: Lol

macncheese: how many tries did that take you to write? Lmao got em

Green: probably like 700 lol

V. Sawyer: How fast do you think I type?

Green: idk like 30 wpm id guess coz I do like 40 to 50 but ur slow af

V. Sawyer: …

V. Sawyer: The average smartphone user types like 20 wpm heather wtf

almighty: yeah wtf lmao

macncheese: u good?

Green: wow you guys are really just slow as fuck huh

almighty: hey what the fuck no ur just on crack

almighty: plus, i do a Solid 35 wpm

V. Sawyer: sure ya do

almighty: shit the fuck up

almighty: shit*

almighty: shut*

V. Sawyer: lmao

Green: Lol

macncheese: lmao

Veronica plugged her phone in, set it aside, and nestled into her pillow for a long night’s sleep. Smile on her face, she was swept into a fantastical world of a dream for the next few hours.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> purplepluto wanted me to write some super angsty duke stuff but like. no so i wrote this instead (It's not really 1k words but eh close enough) (also if you want the Angsty Duke stuff comment n ill post it this week)

The chittering and chirping sounds of birds outside her window awoke her from her rest, stretching drowsily. She rubbed her eyes, blinking away stars from blinking too hard. She pulled her phone off her desk and opened it, typing away slowly at first, then faster as she woke up more and more. She checked her watch- 5am. 

V. Sawyer: Anybody wanna hang out today?

She put the phone down, only to be interrupted by the buzzing of text notifications as soon as the text delivered.

almighty: sure. when n where

Green: Yeah ok

macncheese: I’m down!

V. Sawyer: The fuck are you guys doing replying to my text at 5am

almighty: im god

V. Sawyer: fine. How about 4?

macncheese: sure, that works!

Green: yea

macncheese: I can host

almighty: rad. So heathers at 4?

Green: yep

V. Sawyer: still don’t get how the FUCK you guys can do that

almighty: just use y’all its better

Green: (An image of a Venn diagram that says ‘People from the South’ on the left, ‘LGBTQ+’ on the right, and ‘People who use Y’all’ in the center)

Green: got something to tell us, chandy?

almighty: okay FIRST of all, never FUCKING call me that EVER. AGAIN. n second of all, yeah how the FUCK did you not know

Veronica, knowing that the next 10 minutes would be spent arguing, muted the conversation and set her phone down. Hearing a shout from the front lawn, she grabbed her backpack and rushed down to Heather's car.

“Finally, huh.” She drawled, arm over her seat to look at the hurried Veronica and unbothered Duke sitting in the backseat.

“It took me like, a minute at most, Heather.”

“A’ight, whatever, let’s get going.”

“Wow, you’re sure that you’re not from the south?” Duke giggled.

“Yes of course, dumbass.” Chandler replied arrogantly, then after a minute, they parked in front in Heather Mcnamara’s driveway and stepped into the house.

Chandler opened her room’s doors with a flourish and flopped onto her bed, sinking into Heather’s comforter. Heather sat backwards on her office chair, threading her finger through the fringe of her soft blankets.

“So. What do you guys wanna talk about?” Veronica muttered awkwardly.

“I dunno. Hey, you guys wanna go to my backyard? We can play some croquet.”

“Sure.”

Heather Duke jumped up and stepped out of Heather’s door, heading out. The others followed after an uncomfortable moment.

_ **Ponk!** _

The red ball zipped across the lawn, swerving slightly to the left in order to knock a pastel-yellow ball away from the hoop. Mac groaned.

“Heather, didn’t we just make a rule against you using your magic?”

“Fine.” Chandler rolled her eyes and the small wooden spheres rolled back into place. “Heather, It’s your turn.”

“Actually, Heather, it’s my turn.”

The golden ball flew, slightly rising above the freshly-mowed grass, to land at the matching jade ball, hitting it into a small patch of ferns near the fences that enclosed the space.

“Good one.” Duke sighed, stepping over to it. “Veronica, all yours.”

Veronica held her mallet steady, the blue contrasting nicely with the orange-pink sunset sky. She swung, it landed, and she walked over to it.

“So, remind me why you guys thought I was a siren?”

Chandler grumbled, then quietly said “Mac had a crush on you ever since she saw you in seventh grade.”

Everyone burst into giggly laughter and Mac turned beet-red, mumbling something about sixth grade, and Veronica’s giggling exploded into hyena-like screaming laughs. Mac smiled unconsciously at Veronica’s happiness.

“_Really?_ Sixth grade? And you’ve hidden it this long?”

Mac nodded, lips still creased upwards slightly, her face now a softer shade of red.

“Okay, okay, what else?”

“The forgeries.” Chandler interjected.

  
  
“Are you serious? My shitty forgeries?”

“Shitty? You have Mr. E’s handwriting down cold.”

“Heh. Yeah I do. Took me a while, too.” Veronica smiled smugly.

“Hell, I can’t even write in print.”

“Wait, what do you mean?”

“Oh, man. You haven’t noticed? I only write in cursive. It’s how I got taught.”

“That’s actually really hilarious.”

  
  
“Shut up.”


	8. Chapter 8

Veronica snickered quietly. The game finished without much more commotion, Chandler of course winning, and they laid down on the grass, watching the sky fade from orange to pink to a deep, rich purple.

“What are you guys going to do in college?”

“Well, I got into Harvard.” Veronica said with a smug grin.

“Oh, really?” Mac beamed, “Me too!”

  
  
Duke chuckled until she realized that Mac was dead serious.

“You’re not joking? You actually got into Harvard?”

  
  
“Yep. Harvard law, too.”

“Wh- what how?”

“What, like it’s hard?”

“Yes! Harvard law might be, like, the _most_ difficult college to get into!”

  
  
“Huh. Wild.”

Chandler giggled under her breath. Veronica checked her watch- 9pm already. Huh.

“I gotta go. I have studying to do.” Veronica muttered disappointedly.

She waved goodbye to the Heathers as she began walking down to her house, hands in her pockets, looking at the sidewalk. The weather was noticeably warmer than the past few days, despite their general northernness and usual cold summers.

Glancing left and right, she noticed the glowing fluorescence of a 7-11 across the street. She quickly checked for cars and sprinted across the road.

** _Ding!_ **

  
  
The convenience store’s cigarette-like scent immediately attacked her sense of smell, and she retreated to the slushee section of the building.

“Greetings and salutations. I do not usually see another person around this area.”

Veronica whipped around, turning tensely to the source of the voice. She relaxed, somewhat recognizing the tall, lanky teen facing her.

“I don’t usually come here. You… you’re uhhh… James? John?”

“Jason. Jason Dean- JD for short.” He extended his hand, and Veronica gingerly shook it.

“Oh! You’re the guy who beat up Kurt and Ram in the cafeteria at the start of school!” Veronica snorted, her hands shooting to cover her mouth, a look of shock prominently displayed on her face.

  
  
“Yeah. Hey, you are the blue Heather, are you not? Sawyer or something.”

“Close. I’m actually a Veronica, not a Heather. They’re my friends- well, more like coworkers. Our job’d probably be being popular and shit huh.”

“Anything weird about them?”

  
  
Veronica stiffened for a moment, before smoothly replying, “They’re the Heathers. Standard popular-girl fare, really.”

JD nodded, stirring his red slushee with his straw.

The sky was becoming steadily darker and Veronica was getting super hungry. She grabbed a sandwich from the rack and purchased it with a beep from the cash register.

Egg salad. Not a bad choice for a random pick, she thought, taking a bite.

“You know, I have been to dozens of high schools. Not often is there such a huge gap in popularity.”

“Dozens? Haven’t you graduated yet?”

“Well, 10, but this one should be one of my last. You try getting a decent education changing schools every 4 months.”

“Huh. I guess.”

Out of nowhere, JD sucked in a breath through his teeth, massaging his temples with his free hand.

“Are you okay?”

  
  
“Mhm,” he grinned, “Just a brain freeze. Want to try?”

“Alright.” Veronica took the cup from his hand, icy slush dripping from the straw. She took a sip. “I really don’t see what’s s- _AUGH, SON OF A BITCH!_”

“Is it not great? Fight pain with more pain, am I right?”

She glanced over to him with a confused, worried look. That’s not a normal thing to say, under any circumstances.

“Bye, then.” She waved goodbye and left the shop, the door’s bells clinking quietly in the wind- and she would’ve sworn she heard him say something like “See you in school, darling.”

Who calls people darling? Especially people that they barely know. What, did he have a crush on her? Veronica snickered under her breath. Nah.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please help what is Romance


	9. Chapter 9

JD watched Veronica step out of the store, a rush of the cool breeze hitting his face from the open door. God, she was hot. Shame, really. His dad’s hunting took him all around the country, so making friends- especially girlfriends- was not high on his to-do list.

“Veronica.”

“VERONICA!” Heather Chandler shouted, snapping her fingers in front of Veronica’s face.

“Wh- sorry, Heather.” She nearly fell backwards off the school lunch bench as Duke cackled.

“God, and you don’t even need to figure out if you’re the Heather being called.”

“Heather, don’t be mea-” Mac began before freezing and pausing, face scrunching up. 

“What?” Duke raised an eyebrow. “Did you eat a brain tumour for breakfast?”

“Ha-ha. Very funny.” Chandler rolled her eyes and continued, “Heather wanted to ask you something.”

“Oh! Right. Veronica, do you know who that kid over there is?” Mac pointed at JD, black trenchcoat and all sitting alone in the corner of the cafeteria.

“Oh, yeah, that’s err… JD, I think. Kinda emo. Saw him in a 7-11 yesterday. Why do you ask?”

“I dunno. Weird vibes, I guess. He creeps me out, you know?”

“Ugh, yeah. Pretty sure he called me darling.”

“Darling? Really? Who says that?”

“I know, right!”

“God, you two need to shut the fuck up already.” Duke sneered.

“Alright, alright already let’s go do the lunchtime poll.” Chandler waved her hand, snapping them all to consciousness.

“Hey, this question wouldn't be that bizarro thing you were babbling about over the phone last…”

“Shut up, it is. I told Dennis if he gave me another political topic, I'd just die.”

As the two made their rounds around the cafeteria, Veronica finally became fed up with the selection of answerers- same as every week, they met with the country club kids, the newspaper club, the jocks, basically only the more rich and powerful people in Westerburg.

None of them even came close to the Heathers, though, and you could feel the awkward fear like a heavy weighted blanket, settling as they talked. Their stiff words were a constant reminder of the gap in power between them.

“Hey, Heather?”

“Yeah?”

“Why can’t we talk to other kinds of people?”

“_God_, Veronica. Do I look like Mother Theresa? If I did, I probably wouldn't mind talking to the damned mathletes.”

“Just this once? Please?” Veronica pleaded, glancing over at JD, who she needed to find out more about.

“Boo, you pillowcase. You owe me.”

Veronica, excited, grabbed the clipboard from a begrudgingly annoyed Heather Chandler and rushed off to the corner table.

“God, Veronica. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re in _love_,” She drew the vowel sounds out long and steady and rolled her eyes “with that loner emo kid.”

Veronica hastily scribbled something out of view of Heather and ripped off a corner of their paper. “C’mon, Heather. You agreed. Let’s go.”

“Don’t talk to me like that.” Heather growled, but went along with Veronica anyways.

They arrived at JD’s table, grimy and unused, the lights above flickering slightly, lending to an even more creepy and ominous atmosphere than the whole random emo sitting alone in the corner vibe.

“Oh. 7-11 girl! And a Heather. To what occasion do I owe the,” he paused- “pleasure.” The two glowered at each other, despite never interacting before.

“It’s something called the lunchtime poll. It might sound like a stupid question bu-“

“There are no stupid questions, my dear.” There he was again with the weird names.

“Okay then, you inherit five million dollars the same day aliens tell the earth they're blowing us up in two days, what would you do?”

“That’s the stupidest question I’ve ever heard.”

“Stop with the small talk and answer the goddamn question already.” Heather Chandler interjected, rapping her manicured red nails on the table.

“Fine, fine. Probably just row on out to the middle of a lake. Bring along my sax, some tequila, and some Bach.” Veronica discreetly slipped a note under his lunch tray as he drawled on about the songs he’d play. She saw his eyes light up slightly as he saw the ripped edge of the paper.

Veronica barely had time to jot down his answer before Chandler grabbed her arm and yanked her away.

“God, if you’re gonna openly be a bitch-“

“Mac was right. There’s something off about him. We’re avoiding him from now on, okay?” It was less of a question than a rising command- which Veronica felt oddly compelled to follow.

She rolled her eyes. _Fuck, Heather. You can’t just use your magic on people like tha-_

“What was that?” Chandler snapped, and fear dawned on Veronica’s face when she realized that she had said that out loud. She turned to face JD, who seemed to be completely immersed in his copy of Moby Dick- huh, maybe he’d get along with Duke... never mind. Luckily, he didn’t look like he’d heard anything.

She had a quick sigh of relief under her breath as she whisperingly reassured Heather that nobody’d heard them.

Direct Chat - Baudelaire Jr., V. Sawyer

Baudelaire Jr.: Greetings and salutations.

V. Sawyer: who’s this?

Baudalaire Jr.: JD. You gave me your number at lunch today

V. Sawyer: Right yeah ok

She quickly added him as a contact, chuckling slightly at his username- she vaguely remembered him quoting Baudelaire in language arts.

Baudelaire Jr.: I assume, since you gave me your tag, that you want to talk? Perhaps we should meet again in the real world

V. Sawyer: Okay yeah that’s the reason but also who the fuck talks like that in text

V. Sawyer: I mean fr

Baudelaire Jr.: Meet me in the same 7-11 at 5 today, after school. I can give you a ride, if you would like.

V. Sawyer: Uh ok

Veronica already regretted this. Her parents had always told her to make sure that people are okay before letting them go by themselves, and this person- JD- was clearly not okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh my gosh i was reading through the notes and it really only just hit me that i end every sentence with a 'lmao' huh lmao


	10. Chapter 10

She walked into the 7-11, the doorbell ringing with a clear sound as she stepped in. JD’s face poked up above the racks of snacks as he exclaimed and ran over to her.

“Look, Veronica. This might sound crazy, but you’re in real danger.” He gripped her shoulders tightly.

“Crazy’s right- get off of me.” She took his hands off herself before continuing, “What do you mean? This is Sherwood. Ohio. There hasn’t been a murder in years.”

“You know Heather Chandler, right? Yeah, of course you do. Uh, not sure how to say this, but she’s a witch.”

Veronica’s face drained of colour, eyes widening to saucers and mouth hanging agape. How did he- oh. Oh.

“That remark you made about magic? You didn’t know it at the time-“ I sure fucking did. “-but you were right.”

“Don’t worry, though. My dad and I? We’re monster hunters. It’s our job to kill as many, well, monsters as possible, but I need your help.”

Her head spun. _Monster hunters? Her help? What? _She stumbled, but JD caught her before she fell.

“Woah. I know it’s a lot, but you’ve gotta believe me. All of Westerburg- no, all of Sherwood, is in grave danger.” He paced around in a narrow circle, making wild gestures with his hands before finally finishing his spiel and grabbing Veronica’s hands.

“Will you help me?”

nachos, babey

V. Sawyer: HOLY FUCK HOLY FCUCK HLOY FUCK HOLY FCUK HOLY FUCK

macncheese: okay first of all, no swearing on my Good Christian Minecraft Server and second of all what is it?????

almighty: dude stop bringing up your minecraft server

almighty: nobody wants to play right now

Green: dude let v speak

Green: hurry it up man uve been typing for a solid like 5 minutes now are you gonna send us the fucking declaration of independence

V. Sawyer: OKOKOKOK SO I meet up with jd right and he’s super on edge (hehe pun) and I’m like yo wtf and he’s just out of nowhere like UR IN DANGER and im like what the fuck and so he’s like YOU KNOW HEATHER CHANDLER YEAH SO SHES A WITCH and im like yO WHAT THE FUCK but like in my head coz I don’t wanna out you like that and so I go along like EXPLAIN????? And he’s like WHEN U WERE LIKE BLABLABLA MAGIC U WERE RIGHT and im like shaking because holy shit and then he’s like ME N MY DA ARE MONSTER HUNTERS WERE GONNA GO KILL HER BUT WE NEED UR HELP n im like WHAT THE ACTAULF U C Kand he just goes on this fucking rant and he’s like WILL YOU HELP ME and uh im in the bathroom rn please fucking help

almighty: …

almighty: fuck

Green: FUCK IS RIGHT

macncheese: oh boy oh frick

Green: ok so this is SUPER INTENSE but I just want to point out the fact that when faced with DEATH mac still won’t say fuck

almighty: NOT!!!!!! IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!!! THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE GONNA KILL ME SHUT THE F U C K UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This was when she realized her options- one, run away. Nope. They had a motorcycle and guns, she wouldn’t make a mile. Two- get him first. No again, even with her magic- Her magic! She could try and use her magic. But how?

Heather Chandler grabbed her phone and reached over to her late grandmother’s secret stash of spell books and potionery. She set the phone down and began flipping through the worn pages, trying her best to understand the chicken-scratch handwriting and runic symbols scattered across the parchment until she finally took a deep breath and landed on the only page that could help.

Her eyes skimmed the stained paper, thumb rubbing the corner nervously. She could barely read half of the things on the sheet. Her phone vibrated and made a ding! She picked it up, her eyes widening with shock.

V. Sawyer: Ok so im about to go outside to him but like

V. Sawyer: Im not prepared h el p

Green: Of course you’re not its fucking murder

V. Sawyer: Im gonna call so that I don’t have to text the Entire Coversation

V. Sawyer: wish me lucj

macncheese: gl

Call Transcript

“Alright. I’ll help you.”

“Are you sur- oh? You actually decided to help? Great! Come with me.”

“Wait- already? Like, right now?”

“Yeah. We don’t have time to spare- she might be trying to kill us all right now!”

“Okay, okay, so you’re telling me that _we’re going to Heather Chandler's house right now_.”

-

Heather froze. She hadn’t been paying the most attention to the conversation, but she felt the colour drain from her face. She had, what, 10 minutes at the most before they got there? She ran her fingers over the smudged ink, murmuring to herself, eyebrows creasing with worry as she realized what the spell would do.

-

“I mean like, no need to say it that loudly, but yeah. Let’s get going”

The noises of a scuffle sounded quietly, muffled by the phone’s audio balancer.

“Don’t touch me. I can go by myself.”

“Alright, princess.”

  
  
“Don’t- why do you even want me to come in the first place?”

“I’d do it myself, but it gives it a more, well, personal touch to have a victim of the creature.”

-

Heather grabbed at her plants- Cornflower, spider-flower, monkshood, poppy, belladonna. She held them carefully, cupped between her palms gently so as to not crush the delicate flowers as she sprinted back upstairs, leaving out a container of drain cleaner- an alibi.

-

“C’mon, Veronica.”

“Coming, coming.”

Quieted sounds of a motorbike roared to life in the background of the call.

-

Holding the stems, thorns digging through her skin, leaving drops of blood. She grimaced, but needed her other hand to latch onto the teakettle, filled with boiling water, hissing gently, steam curling up her forearm.

-

“There’s the house.”

“Red as I thought. I expected nothing less.”

Call Transcript - End

Heather’s heart froze. She heard the motorcycle stop outside, the clicking of heels in the quiet night loud and clear. She turned off her phone- she wouldn’t need it anymore.

Now or never.

She reached deep inside of her soul, as if to snatch up a handful of nonexistent threads, pulling her power up to the surface. She felt herself heat up, hands glowing a scarlet colour as she poured the water into the cup with the flowers. As soon as the water hit the petals, they dissolved into a bright blue. She smiled, her gnawing fear turning into light waves of worry.

Her brief respite was cut short, however, by the snap of her window lock shattering outside. That would be them, she thought, quietly putting the materials on her nightstand. She grabbed a note, and her heart ached that she had to use it again.

Nobody would recognize it, luckily, she smirked. Her curtains pulled open and she put the glass up to her lips. She glanced at Veronica, staring at her, and winked, before downing the cup and collapsing onto her glass coffee table.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh wow this is Angsty why did i do this no
> 
> ps are yall chill with me posting a oneshot next week instead of another chapter of this? im kinda burnt out with this plot rn and i think i just need a break (dw itll still be heathers i just dont know how to continue this story specifically)

“Heather, no!” Veronica shouted, reaching out to Chandler’s limp body, laying in the shards of the destroyed table, light, barely visible cuts crisscrossing her skin where she had fallen on the glass.

“Well, well. Looks like our work happened for us.”

“Oh my god.” She’d expected Heather to have run, not to have killed herself! Why did she-

“Look, a note.” JD’s harsh voice snapped Veronica out of her shocked stupor. He had rolled Heather over, and sure enough, she was clutching a piece of delicately patterned paper. He held it towards her, and her heart sank when she saw the writing.

It wasn’t her newer handwriting, no. It was from freshman year- Veronica’d seen her handwriting, nearly illegible cursive, rather than her newer, neat and perfectly looped writing. Not only that, but what was written on it filled her with sadness.

“Dear world, believe it or not, I have feelings. Emotions. Heh.” JD chuckled. “Sure.” He folded the paper back up and wrapped Heather’s fingers around it. “Oh! Almost forgot.” He pressed two fingers against her neck. Checking for a pulse, most likely.

“Nothing! Wow, she really did it, huh. The wicked witch of Westerburg is dead!” JD cackled maniacally.

“She did it.” Veronica’s voice was light and hollow, an empty tone ringing throughout her mind, her heartbeat banging in her ears.

“Let me drive you home, dear.”

Veronica let out a sad laugh. “No, I’ll walk.”

“Alright. I’ll leave you to mourn, then.” JD slipped out of the window, shimmying down a great oak near Heather’s window. The faint smell of gasoline welled up in the air as tired screeched against the asphalt, the motorbike zooming away into the horizon.

Veronica picked up the glass, putting it on Chandler's dresser, where it should've been. The reality of it all hit her and she collapsed onto her knees, a choked sob escaping from her throat, her arms and heart feeling heavier than ever. She covered her eyes, fat tears rolling down her cheeks.

She was gone.

Really gone, forever.

I mean, at least she got to do it on her own terms... That was probably what led her to do this in the first place. I mean, can you imagine Heather fucking Chandler, the queen herself dying to someone else's hands? Veronica gave a disbelieving scoff. She really did that, huh. Killed herself foreve-

“Hey.”

Veronica’s voice caught, and she carefully split her stiff fingers apart to see the source. She gasped, her hand falling onto her lap.

Right in front of her was Heather Chandler- well, two Heather Chandlers, actually. The body, which lay stiff and lifeless on the floor, and the ghostly apparition that floated a few inches above it. It looked eerily similar to the corpse, same red silk robe, albeit a faded and unsaturated shade, same steely grey eyes, but Veronica could see the remnants of the drink seeping from the corner of her mouth. The ghost smirked.

“Don’t look so surprised. Did you really think I, the great and powerful Heather Chandler, would kill herself?”

Veronica leaped forwards to embrace Heather, but her body passed right through her and she ended up grasping at nothing, an icy-cold wave of emptiness making her shudder as she fell through the illusion.

“Heh. Really, Veronica? Trying to grab a ghost?”

“I- I just-“

“Yeah, yeah. C’mon, we have to go tell Mac and Duke.”

“W- wait. You’re a ghost. Can’t you just fly over there?”

Heather laughed, filling the room with echoes. “God, I wish it was that easy. See, that potion made me fall into a sort of coma, I think.”

“You think? You killed yourself with a potion that you didn’t even know the effects of?”

“You try reading that hag’s handwriting. Literal garbage, I’m telling you- it’s the worst writing I’ve read. And I’ve read Mac’s.”

“Hey! Mac’s writing is adorable, how dare you?” She clutched her chest in faux shock.

“Right, right. Anyways, it kinda like… Astral projects me? You know, like those stoner kids are always talking about. The thing is, though, that it has to bind me to someone, yeah?”

“Not really, but continue.”

“And in order to do that, you have to put an object of importance to that person into the potion, otherwise it’ll just kill you. And you see, I didn’t have anything for Duke or Mac, so I used cornflowers, which, by the way, nice choice, very poten-“

“How did you know my favourite flower?”

Heather was suddenly very glad that she was no longer a being of flesh and blood. Her eyes widened. Veronica, lips quirking into a slight smile, chuckled at her face, frozen in a look of surprise and embarrassment.

“I- I uhm.”

“Nevermind. You’re right. If JD were to find out about Heather and Heather, he’d try to kill them too.”

Veronica nodded solemnly and grabbed her phone, tapping away. The stiffness in the air was inexplicably tense.

nachos, babey!

V. Sawyer: @Green @macncheese come to hcs house and bring sleepover shit k

Green: what the fuck

V. Sawyer: Long story, ill explain there

Green: coming

macncheese: me too?

V. Sawyer: yep

macncheese: kay

“How is it?”

“What?”

“Your… Death? Coma? Wibbledy-wobbeldy magicky-wagicky stuff?”

“Did you seriously just say ‘magicky-wagicky’ unironically?” Heather scoffed.

“Uh.”

“Forget it.”

The two waited in terse silence until the headlights of Heather Duke’s old green jeep pulled into the driveway. Veronica poked her head out of the window and waved. Duke nodded a single time upwards, acknowledging her.

Rushing down to the door, Veronica pulled open the door to a tired-looking Duke, phone tucked away in her yellow-green sweater. She staggered into the entryway.

“God, Veronica. Why’re you calling me here at this ungodly hour. If it wasn’t Friday, I’d kick your ass. Let me in.”

“Alright, alright. You’re welcome inside.” Veronica grabbed Duke under her arms and near dragged her to Heather Chandler’s room.

Her eyelids fluttered open, a spark of clarity lighting up. “Hey, where’s Heather?”

“Right there,” she said, pointing at the translucent afterimage of Heather floating above her bed.

“Uhh, no she’s not. You know what, I don’t care. Do you have any of that fake blood stuff for me?”

  
  
“Fake what?”

“Blood. Heather makes this substitute potion so I don’t, you know, have to,“ she put her arm in front of her face like an old Dracula movie, “Suck your blood. God, they really butchered the source material, didn’t the-”

“It’s under the bed.” Chandler spoke up, checking her still perfectly manicured nails.

Veronica glanced over to Chandler for a moment.

“Veronica?”

“Right, sorry. Gimme a sec.” She reached underneath the bed, pulling out a palette of what looked to be juice boxes. “This it?”

“Yeah.” Duke grabbed a box and poked the straw into the drink.

Ding! Veronica’s phone pinged and she picked it up.

nachos, babey!

macncheese: here!

V. Sawyer: comin

They rushed downstairs through Chandler’s maze-like home, and flung open the door right as Mac was about to ring the doorbell. She jumped, clearly surprised, then laughed and walked inside.

Once they were all seated in Heather’s bedroom, Duke asked, "Okay, so what's the big deal."

“Okaysojdandicametokillheatherbutshedrankapotionandnowshesaghostandidontevenknowifyoucanseeherandohmygodyoucantseeherandnowimscaredbecausehemightgoafteryoutwonextandidontwantthattohappenplea-“ her voice sped up to an unintelligible mumble as she began to breathe shallow breaths, all 3 Heathers watching her in varied emotions.

“Woah, woah, take a breath and say it again, in English this time.” Duke snorted.

Veronica inhaled deeply, and quietly told the others the events of the day. When she got to Heather’s ‘death’, she became frantic, hands whipping around erratically as she took shuddering breaths.

“Holy fuck.” Duke let out a low whistle and tugged at her hair.

“Fuck is right.” Nodding, Veronica clutched her arms tightly and bit her lip. She glanced at Chandler momentarily, blinking back tears before continuing, “And now, I- I’m scared he’ll… he’ll find out about you two and try t- try to-“

Mac leaped toward Veronica and held her close.

“Can you… see her?” Veronica sniffled.

“No.” Both Heathers replied, dejectedly.

Veronica let out a low cackle, deep and hollow, fading into a sob as she clutched Mac’s blazer, wrapping her fists in the soft fabric and burying her head into her shoulder.

Her mind swirled with thoughts, what if’s from broken, rambling trains of thought-

What if

He saw on the next full moon

Crackling, changing

Blam!

A silver bullet

Muffled click-clacking

The red-stained grass

Yellow blazer

Torn

Ripped apart

Ashy and destroyed

Bullet that took

Sparks from her eyes

Leaving them blank

Like the one before her

Never again

To be bright

Or cheerful

Only frozen

In the fear of the moment

Never again changing

What if

A rare smile

Grinning

Fangs barely showing

Caught his eye

Would he check?

Would he simply…

Sneak into her room

Plunging

Pencil digging into her heart

Fingers

Turning to dust

Flying away in the bright sunlight

Slowly

Dissolving

Away

Into nothingness

Called missing

Crocodile’s tears

Rolling down his face

As he secretly smiles

What if

They’re both gone

I love you, he says

Can’t say no

Will he kill again?

Do what he’s done to others?

Don’t know

Say no

Say no

Say no

But yes slips out

It scratches

Hurts

But it sounds true

He smiles

There’s no more escape

Stuck

Forever

And ever

And ever

The thoughts invade her, filling up her skull with such pressure that she can’t breathe, think, feel. Her pulse quickens, sudden, jolting breaths cycle through her system. She hears mumbling, sounds so far she can barely make them out.

“Veronica?” She snaps back to reality, a shift so sudden she feels whiplash reverberate throughout herself. Hands on her hands, soft but callused. Cool circles rubbed on her back.

“Veronica, are you okay?” Mac whispers, voice wavering with worry. “_Veronica_…”

“I- I’m…” She manages to sputter out in broken murmurs.

“Sssshhhhh,” A finger- Mac’s- is held up to her lips. “It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay.” Everyone was huddled up close, even Chandler, who held her hand close to herself, a legendarily rare look of genuine fear prominently displayed on her face. Quiet, calm, the somber atmosphere stilled to a pause.


	12. Chapter 12

The next day, the three meet up as if nothing happened, but it’s clear from the vacant look in Veronica’s eyes and her hoarse voice that she’s still barely stopping herself from bursting at the seams. Murmurs spread throughout the crowds, both sympathetic and excited.

“Did you hear that the head heather killed herself?"

“Red heather died! What now?”

“Wait, Heather number one? She committed suicide?”

Eyes burnt into their backs, pitying stares, vengeful glares, the whole lot. The air was tense enough to be cut with a knife.

“So… how’re you holding up, Veronica?” Mac mumbled, pushing around the school lunch’s slop with her fork.

“Good.”

“Great.”

Chandler sat next to the trio and snorted. “_God_, you guys are so boring without me.”

All three girls stared as JD stepped in front of them, smirking. "The Heathers, together again as if yesterday hadn't happened." he hummed.

"JD-"

"Step away, creep," Duke scrunched her nose in disgust.

He nodded, still smiling, "I only want to talk to Veronica, if you two will-"

“Just leave us alone.” The green dressed girl huffed, pushing past him and walking away.

Mac looked at Veronica, as if waiting for an order or a direction, "Go after her, I need to talk to him.”

“How did your first kill feel, my love?”

“Don’t call me that. We shouldn’t have done that. She didn’t deserve to-“ she hesitated, “die.”

JD snorted, "That is exactly what she deserved! She would have always been like that! She was a monster. Quite literally. You of all people should be able to see it." stated, gesturing his hand in a way that made a finger-gun point directly at Veronica

Veronica scowled, rage simmering as he lowered it, realizing his mistake, "Don't call me. Don't talk to me." Turned away, ready to follow the path the Heathers had taken.

"Come on, come back," JD pleaded, grabbing her wrist, "I love you."

“I don’t!” She yelped, pulling away, "Goodbye, JD."

“God, what a creep.” Chandler spat, shaking her head at his receding form as Veronica pulled her along the hallway as if by an invisible string.

They regathered in the bathroom quickly.

“What do we do? We know better, but they think that Heather’s dead! With only two Heathers we might crash if we’re not careful!” Is what Veronica heard Mac say as she stepped out of the hall.

“Yeah, but why would it? Heather’s more popular than ever.” Duke said, a tinge of envy in her tone. Veronica didn’t notice, but Chandler sure did. Her brows furrowed and she crossed her arms again. Mac glared crossly at Duke, unconsciously matching the pose of the ghost next to her. “I’ll take over for her.”

“Replace… Heather?” Veronica and Mac murmur in unison.

“Please.” Chandler rolled her eyes and walked over to Duke, staring daggers, piercing grey eyes narrowed.

“It co- it will work.” The slightest glint showed a rare sheen of excitement over her usual glazed gaze- nobody noticed, but nevertheless.

Mac dropped her voice to a whisper and shook her head, “But, Heather, that’s not what I meant. She’s the only reason that we can live like this. What do you think’ll happen now that she’s… well, not gone, but you need magic to brew potions, and-“

“Yeah, we get it.”

Veronica turned to Chandler, “Wait, how do you go back, anyways?”

“I dunno.” She shrugged, “Not really my problem at this point.”

“Heather. For fuck’s sake- you are a ghost. It is only your problem. Nobody else has this problem.”

“Veronica? You high or something?” Duke snorted.

“Heather, remember?” Turning to Duke, who scrunched their face and muttered a ‘right’.

“Guys! Please, listen.” Mac, fiddling with her thumbs, sitting on the edge of the sinks, began, “I- it- the full moon’s coming up an- and I-“

The colour drained from both Duke and Veronica when they realized the implications.

“The full moon.” Veronica whispered.

Mac nodded, quivering slightly. “Wednesday.”

“But without Heather’s potions-“ Duke murmured.

Dear Diary

Holy shit.

How did I not realize that. I have it on my calendar, too. It’s so soon!! Fuck. fuuuuuuuuu uuu uuuuu uuck

okayokayokay

Ugh

Uh

Fuck

“Veronica. Veronica. _Veronicaaaaaaaaaaaaaaugh_.” Chandler was lying down on the class floor next to Veronica’s desk. “Why the _fuck_ is death so boring? I’ve had kumbaya in the background this entire time and if it plays one more _fucking_ time I swear to fucking god I will rip someones throat out.”

Veronica coughed into her arm and discreetly gestured to her notebook. Heather laid her head on the desk, splattering blue on the wood ever-so-slightly.

_Fuck off, Heather._ She had written.

“Oh, how clever.” Chandler drawled, rolling her eyes.

_no, trust me if I wasnt in history right now id have a better comeback you moist bagel_

“Moist bagel?”

_No you’re right that’s good you’re_ she paused, tapping her pencil against her cheek, _an mid-century victorian fool_

“What did you just- nope, never mind.”

_WHAT THE FUCK ARE WE GONNA DO WITH MAC UG H_

“Not my problem, really.”

_SHES YOUR BEST FRIEND ITS COMPLETELY YOUR PROBLEM_

“No, see, I can’t fucking do anything like this. I’m stuck here, as a ghost, with you, a motherfucking dumbass. This-“ she gestured to her faded form and the classroom, “Is the furthest thing from what or where I want to be right now.”

_Leave then you pompous fuck_

“Oho- watch this.” Chandler stood and walked slowly away from Veronica, holding her arms out slightly in front of her. No more than three steps were taken before she slammed into an invisible wall.

_The fuck_

“Ohh yeah, Veronica. I can’t leave you alone. I physically cannot leave.“

_dskjffdsf_

“Did- did you just write out a keysmash?”

_yes_

“W- nope, not today. Ok uhm. Yeah I dunno.”

The two spent the rest of the day doing this, Chandler talking to her and Veronica writing back notes in her books. It was the first time they’d been able to really talk without interruption or eavesdropping. They came- pretty quickly- to the conclusion that if JD learned about the Heather’s secret, he’d kill them both in cold blood without hesitation. This, however, still left the question-

_What happens with Mac?_


	13. Chapter 13

Writing furiously in her diary of ideas, just unintelligible scribbles expressing her anger and fear, pencil ripping through sheets of paper as she pressed harder than she’d ever before. The pencil’s lead snapped in half with an audible crack and she tossed the journal across her room, lamp clattering on the floor.

Curiously, her window creaked open. Probably the wind- she thought before gasping. Fingers wormed through the crack and forced open the glass.

“Dreadful etiquette, I apologize.” The familiar voice called.

“JD! What the _fuck_ are you doing in my room?” She screeched. “Get the fuck out, you _psychopath_!”

“Sociopath, actually. Very fine line though.”

“_GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE!_”

“Really? No, _oh hello JD, how would you like some tea_? No _how are you doings_? I guess you’re the one with the bad manners.”

“I’ll scream and my parents will call the police! Just leave me alone!” Her voice started to waver, the slightest sheen of water on her eyes.

“Come on, baby-“

“Don’t call me that.”

He chuckled softly and a chilling shiver ran down Veronica’s spine. “But Veronica, you’re my alibi, darling. Plus, we’re not done yet. There are plenty more beasts in Sherwood. Hell, the full moon is in only a few days! Maybe we’ll be lucky and find a spooky werewolf!” Laughing, he turned towards the window.

Veronica froze. That had to be a coincidence, right? He didn’t know about Mac, right? Right?

“Awww, what’s with the look, Veronica? You look like you just saw a ghost!”

Ghost- that’s it! Veronica subtly looked around the room for Chandler, only to see her seemingly mouthing insults at JD, though the strange silence may have been the pounding blood in her ears. Her hands were passing through his neck in an attempt to strangle him. Her form seemed to fizzle slightly, transparency changing, her red-tinted eyes sparking and her strawberry blonde hair floating like a studio Ghibli film.

“Anyways, my love, what do you think would happen when the police come, hmm? What would you tell them? Heather Chandler’s blood is on your hands.”

“What? No- you were the one going to kill her!”

“Ah yes, exactly. _Going_ to. That is the important bit. In reality, though, it all points to you, darling.”

“Wh-“

“You were the one to last touch the glass. You are the one who can forge her handwriting. You know where the Draino is kept. Do you really think, Veronica, that with a witness-“ he jammed his thumb into his chest, “And all that evidence, you would just go scot-free?”

“Yo- You wouldn’t.”

“Oh, but would I? Really, Veronica? Here are your options. Very simple. You either come with me, and rid the world of the filthy creatures of the night that plague it, or you rot in jail and die.”

“I’d rather die than go with you.” She spat defiantly.

In a flash, JD whipped out his pistol. “Have it your way.” He held it up to her head, “I will ask you again. Come with me, or I put a bullet through your skull.”

The reality of the situation slammed into Veronica like a speeding truck. She could die. She would die. She would die if she didn’t agree. Realizing that this was her only way out, she agreed.

“Fine.”

“Then all is forgiven, baby!” He waved the gun cheerily.

“Just… Let me sleep today.”

“Alright-“ he held his hands up in a surrendering gesture, “I’ll see you tomorrow, ‘Ronica”

“Fine, fine, just leave me the fuck alone. At least today.” She added hastily, the moonlight glinting on the barrel.

He slipped back out of the window quickly and the sounds of a motorbike reverberated throughout the room, car smog making Veronica cough slightly.

“Bastard!” Chandler shouted at him as he drove away, shaking her fist like an old cartoon villain.

“Oh my god what the fuck was that?”

“Little bitch! When I get back I’m gonna fucking stab that motherfucker!”

“Oh my god he’s going to find out about Mac.”

“Oh my god!” she mocked, flitting around Veronica, ghostly apparition floating a few inches off the ground so as to be level with the taller girl. “Just think of something, pillowcase.”

“Oh, Heather! Heather probably knows something about this whole mess, right?”

“I mean, probably.”

“Great.” She rolled her eyes but still dialled their numbers on her phone, holding it up to her head.

“Hello?” Mac responded in a split-second, voice raspy and thin like she had been crying.

“Mara! You sound awful! What happened?”

“I- I’m fine.” Veronica could almost feel the fake smile on the other end of the line.

“No you’re not. I’m coming over, is that okay?”

“Yes!” Before she hastily added, “I mean, yeah, totally.” She dropped her voice half an octave in an effort to sound ‘cool’ and both of them burst into a giggling fit.

“Mmmmm?” Duke answered.

“Hold on-“ Veronica dissolved into laughter again. “Tch, okay okay okay so! Do you have any books or anything on monster hunters or anything?”

Duke took a deep breath. “I only got turned like 2 years ago. I’m not that big of a geek. Though… I may have something in my family library.”

Veronica gawked. “You have a family library? That’s a thing?”

“Yeah. Do you not have one?”

“Uh, no.”

“Wild. Anyways, come over. We can try and find something.”

Veronica glanced at Chandler, who shrugged.

“Should I come too?” Mac asked once the conversation lulled.

“Yeah!” The others said in unison. Veronica added an 'Of course!' right after.

Putting on her coat and walking to Duke’s place were the hard parts, Veronica reminded herself. It would be easy sorting through a small library, right? That idea got shut down pretty quickly after Duke brought her into the huge room.

The huge, open space was filled with bookshelves, the cinnamon-like scent of old books washing over her as she gazed in awe at it.

“Veronica? You okay?” Duke snorted. “God, you look like you just took one too many shots.”

“Holy fuck, Heather. How rich are you?”

“I mean, most of these books are heirlooms, so not as much as you might think.”

“You have a fucking family library. Are you serious?”

  
  
“Okay now we’re getting off-topic.” She frowned slightly. Conversations always seemed to end up talking about her parents’ fortune, and that got old really fast. Shaking her head, she plastered on a smile. “Let’s see… The fiction is over here, and then in there’s fantasy, and supernatural books are around… Here!”

“Shit, Heather. How much time do you spend in here?”

“Not enough.”

“Damn right, not enough. This is amazing!”

“Veronica, help me look until Mac comes, okay?”

“Oh, right.”

The two sorted through the ancient collection, plumes of dust exploding from the shelves whenever they took out a book. Veronica let out a low whistle while flipping through some of the yellowed pages.

Murmuring to herself, Duke gently wiped the cover of an old, leather-bound tome with an “A-_ha_!”

“Did you find something?”

“Yeah. Look.”

The cover, though torn and papers roughly assembled, the book looked and felt nearly buzzing with knowledge in her hands. The peeling silvery letters read out:

’_The Dmnd’Gmoir : Auideo the Supe atral anStrge_’.


	14. Chapter 14

“The what?” Veronica cocked her head to the side trying to make sense of the words.”

“I think it says ’The Damned’s Grimoire: A Guide to the Supernatural and Strange’.”

“What’s a grimoire?”

  
“It’s like, a magic book.”

“Ah. Okay.”

“Umm, alright then lemme see.” Duke ran her finger over the table of contents, brow furrowing. “Okay, okay, here are the werewolves…”

Her slight frown deepened into a scowl as she ran her eyes across the nearly unreadable ink. Veronica grabbed her phone and grinned. “Mac’s here! I’ll go get her.”

Watching Veronica close the door behind her, her eyes were drawn to the section on vampires. Why didn’t I think of this sooner? She chided herself. Shaking her head to clear her mind, she read further.

_Vampires are European creatures widely renowned for their thirst for blood. Despite having many subsects, they have various tendencies in common such as an inability to enter homes without an invitation, pale skin, growth in canines, invisibility in mirrors, and vulnerability to sunlight. Some of the most common types of vampires are, of course, vampires and dhampir. Vampires are full vampires, who have been turned and who have drank human blood. These creatures are not the most powerful type of vampire, however they have extraordinary strength and agility, and are the most plentiful. Dhampir are newly-turned humans. They are not as powerful, however often still have superhuman strength and agility as well has having lessened negative effects…_

_Mirrors are the most common way to identify a vampire, as they all have reflections that are not fully there or completely invisible in the case of longer-lived vampires. In some cases, reflections may be invisible to the vampire, yet partially visible to others, or vice versa. This, however, is based on accounts from these creatures and may not be trusted._

_It is unknown who the first vampire was, however…_

She blinked, going back up to the last paragraph. When was the last time she had looked in the mirror? Frowning, she went back in her mind. The realization that she’d avoided her reflection for years now, not wanting to see her- _disgusting, awful_\- self hit her like a truck, and she pursed her chapped lips to block the flood of memories. Mac always did her makeup. She was better at it than she was-_ of course. She was better at everything than she was-_

Duke fell on her feet, knees to her chest, face in her crossed-_ far too soft, flabby_\- arms. She bit her cheek, intrusive, evil- _kind, helpful-_ thoughts running through her mind. No, she didn’t remember what she looked like-_ just that she hated it_.

The sounds of chattering and footsteps alerted her to the others approaching. Wiping her arm roughly on her sleeve, she leaped up and grabbed the book again, frantically flipping through the pages back to the werewolf section. She did her best to lean nonchalantly against a bookshelf, though she was keenly aware of how stiff she must’ve looked when Mac and Veronica burst through the door laughing.

“What took you losers so long?” She scowled, barely holding back tears.

Mac blinked. “Sorry, Heather.”

Veronica was evidently oblivious to the green girl’s shaky demeanour, taking the book from her balled fists and going back to the ‘Werewolves’ section. Mumbling while she read the words out loud, she traced her finger over the words. Her breath caught.

“_What_?” Duke jolted upright at the sound, and Mac fiddled with her fingers while waiting for Veronica’s answer.

“The only known ways to halt or lessen a were-creature’s transformation are by potion and spell. These potions are quite easy to make, however, so very few alternatives are needed. Additionally, the spell is infamous for the severe pain inflicted on the subject were-creature, so it is widely frowned upon.” Mac flinched and Veronica frowned deeply.

Duke took in a deep breath. Veronica looked at her for a moment before switching her gaze to Mac, who was holding tightly onto the taller girl’s shoulder, shivering oh-so-slightly. She looked up, clear blue meeting dark umber eyes but glanced away in a moment.

“So what you’re telling me is that it’s gonna happen again then, huh.” Her eyes were trained on the dusty floorboards. A disbelieving laugh escaped before she looked back at Veronica. “There’s no way?”

The brunette grasped Mac’s hands, lips pursed sorrowfully. “Unfortunately.”

Duke frowned, again. She was always ignored. Veronica and Mac were sweet together, of course, but somehow ever since Chandler’s death, they’d just soaked up all the spilled attention like a hungry sponge, leaving none for her.

She’d gotten used to it, at least. Adapted. Thriving off the bare minimum. A slight, sarcastic smirk danced across her lips. It looked like a scene straight out of a shitty supernatural romance movie, the sun streaming through the stained glass windows, leaving shifting rainbow patterns on the wood as the duo embraced. They didn’t have time to waste, what were they doing?

Duke carefully picked up the tome from the floor and brushed the cover gently. She scanned through it until she realized that no, there was no other way to help Mac. So now, they had a psychopath monster hunter and no way to hide their friend’s upcoming clearly monstrous transformation.

“Guys. Guys, we have to come up with a solution. This isn’t a ’True love’s kiss’ scenario where you hug and suddenly all your magic, insipid little dreams come true.”

“God, Heather, why do you have to be such a megabitch?” Veronica drawled.

She frowned. “Because I have to be.”

“Sure.”

The much-awaited Wednesday rolled around, and the air between the Heathers was tenser than normal at lunch. Though the weather was clear and the sky was cloudless, it carried a sort of unexplainable fear in it that spread quickly through the school. From the least popular student to the principal, everyone felt unsettled and anxious, waiting for… something.

“Heather. Do you think you’re ready? We decided to do it-“ Duke dropped her voice “-in the woods, right?”

Mac nodded, once again fidgeting, swaying in her seat. She’d been awake all night worrying about the full moon and what would happen after school. They had decided to simply let her go in the woods and have Duke and Veronica watch from afar.

The day seemed to speed by, minutes blurring together. The final bell rang and she bolted upright, hurriedly grabbing her backpack and sprinting out to the parking lot to meet the two others at Duke’s forest green jeep.

She took a deep breath. “Okay. I’m ready. Let’s go.”

“Mac, its fucking 4pm. The moon doesn’t even get close to rising for another, like, hour. Chill.”

“I know but- I- it’s-“ she stammered.

“Okay, yeah let’s head over early then.”  
  
The three drove up to the woods without another word. They gathered in the same clearing as the first time and Mac shivered at a sudden, vivid remembrance of the pain from then. The short girl walked around in the middle of the field and gazed into the sky.

“Should we-“ Veronica started.

“Shh. Let’s leave her be.”

Duke and Veronica both walked out into the trees, though they lingered at the edge for a moment before disappearing into the foliage.

Mac watched the two leave her. She huffed, counting the clouds pass by her and once again, in a blur, the sky was dark. She normally wouldn’t have noticed, but the shafts of moonlight coming through the woods struck her with a searing pain. It had started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh frick oh no the Angst
> 
> dear the person who came up with the mirror thing- you know who you are, i know you read this- i hope youre happy.
> 
> i hope youre happy now.
> 
> i hope youre happy how you hurt your cause forever
> 
> i hope you think youre clever-
> 
> nope my bad
> 
> anyways. more angst to come next chapter. ha. aha (Laughs, fading into crying.)
> 
> (Also if its like. inaccurate or smth please tell me i tried to do my research but i couldnt find anything so uh)
> 
> also! i just want to thank yall for the comments its easily one of the best parts of my week :) thanks!!


	15. Chapter 15

Within a few minutes, the pain had subsided, and Duke watched as she become the huge, wolflike beast again. She gulped. The transformation was gruesome as always, but without the potion, it was far worse than normal. As soon as it had started, Mac had crumpled to the grass, whimpering and convulsing, muscles rippling beneath her tan skin. The short girl let out a blood-curdling scream as she seemingly stretched, growing larger as joints bent unnaturally.

Duke turned away, barely choking down the acidic taste of vomit. Where the fuck did Veronica go?

Hearing a click, she whipped around to see a shadowy figure weaving through the trees. Shit. She ran towards the figure, keeping out of sight of McNamara- well, that’s not really her anymore, is it? Not right now, at least. As she got closer, the moonlight glinted off something in its hands. Racing to hide behind a tree, she peeked at it. Who else would it be, but Jason-fucking-Dean, aiming a gun at her best friend.

Her eyes widened as she ran toward him, feeling as though it was in slow motion.

“No!” She leaped.

The gun fired.

A jolt ran through her body, followed by a searing pain, like a white-hot poker jabbed into her stomach.

For a moment, all she could see was dark, then there was only blinding light.

She felt herself go limp.

JD brushed the now blood-soaked girl off himself with a scowl. “Shit, those silver bullets were damn expensive. I should have brought two.”

Seeing Duke laying on the matted grass, he grinned. “At least I got one of them. May not have been a creature, but-“ He squatted down and poked her in the face. She lightly flinched. “- a monster, for sure.”

“Oh, and it looks like your dog is coming over. I’ll see you… never.”

“Eat shit and _die_.” She coughed.

He winked and disappeared into the undergrowth. The wolf lumbered over, likely from the metallic odor of blood and the piercing, ringing noise of the shot. It got one glance at Duke before rearing back with a whine, shifting back into Heather quicker than ever before.

“_Heather_! Heather, are you alright? _Heather_?” The petite girl’s eyes widened to saucers and she ripped strips off her already torn blazer, wrapping them around Duke’s injury.

Duke was already passed out. Veronica sprinted out of the cover. “What happened? I heard a gunshot!”

Mac felt tears prick in her eyes as she clutched the reddened girl closer to her.

“_Shit_. Okay, uhhhh, you can pick her up. We have to go!” Veronica hissed.

Nodding, Mac picked up Heather and followed Veronica to Duke’s car.

“Fuck, okay, we have to get her to the hospital.”

“No! The doctors’ll find something and-“

“Yeah, you’re right. Errrrr…”

Veronica ran through her memories of the book. Vampires could only be killed by a few things, like stakes through the heart and… what were the others? Her brows furrowed, concentrating, racing through the dark streets.

She bit down on her lip. Glancing to Chandler, who seemed nonplussed and sat perfectly still in the passenger seat, she frowned and gripped the steering wheel tighter.

“Where are we going?” Mac asked, unconsciously running her hands through Duke’s hair.

“My place.”

“Let’s go to mine instead. My parents are never home, we’ll have less excuses to make.”

“Okay.” She didn’t have time to realize the implications of that as she swerved into Mac’s driveway.

She yanked open the back doors and helped the tattered girl carry Duke up to the bathroom.

“Uh, fuck, okay what now?” Veronica asked Mac, who was peeling off the soaked makeshift wraps off of the unconscious girl.

“I have to clean her up. So it doesn’t get infected.”

“Okay, I’m… not exactly comfortable with that. Can I wait outside?”

  
  
“Of course! I won’t take long... I hope.”

Veronica nodded and closed the door behind her and scowled at the ghost sitting on the nearby sofa.

“Fat load of help you were, Heather.”

“Yeah, sure. I barely blink and all of a sudden, you’re at Heather’s. Sorry for not giving you directions or whatever.”

“Wait, what?”

“Did I _stutter_, bitch? I just apologized. Listen the fuck up.”

“No, no. There was a lot of shit in between those two things, Heather. Heather Duke got _shot_, for fuck’s sake.”

“Oh fuck, is she alright?” Her face fell and her intimidating demeanour practically melted away.

“Heather, you’ve been with me all day. You were there.”

  
  
“_Ha-ha_. What a _very_ joke. Is she okay?” She snapped, the draino pooling in her mouth and running down her lips as her fury multiplied.

“Wait, do you not remember?”

“_Yes_, I did all along! I’m talking to you on purpose for a funny joke! No, you fucking _idiot_. You _moron_, you _fool_, you _imbecile_. _Is. She. Okay._”

“She’s a vampire! Vampires are like, practically indestructible. She’ll be fine. But if you don’t remember, that’s a kinda big problem too-“ she grabbed Chandler, by the shoulders, a jolt running through her when she made contact.

She saw Chandler’s eyes widen, and she felt hers do the same as her surroundings blurred and flipped and swirled around her. She felt a shove, but a strange one, as if it was pushing the air out of her lungs rather than herself. Her eyes were forced shut, and it felt like a ten-fold stronger version of that odd spin after getting dizzy.

She was forcibly ejected from her body, shooting forwards with a gasp. She stared in shock as she watched her eyes loll for a moment, jolting back an electric blue before fading back into their usual dark shade.

“What the _fuck_-“ Veronica stuttered, stretching her transparent fingers out.

“I could ask the same question, bitch.” Not-Veronica spat, and hearing her own voice sent a chill down her spine.

“Heather?”

“Yeah, no shit, Sherlock.”

“Ohhhhh, fuck.”

“Mhm.”

“Veronica!” Mac called.

“Shit, let me back!” Veronica reached toward Chandler.

Her hand passed _right through._


	16. Chapter 16

When Veronica touched Chandler, the first thing the ghost had felt was an overwhelming sense of warm, a full, complete feeling that she hadn’t felt since that cup of electric blue she’d downed not long ago.

She felt like she was melting, and she latched onto that desperately before it slipped out of her hands and she opened her eyes. Everything was slightly off-colour, and she frowned. Her hair felt too short, her fingers abnormally long. Looking down, her frown deepened as she realized that she was now not only fully opaque, but also far tanner than normal, without her freckles or her usual embellishment of red nails and a bow.

Looking up, she saw Veronica, standing- no, floating no more than an inch above the ground, thinly translucent and face contorted into a confused grimace.

“What the fuck-“ Veronica stuttered, stretching her transparent fingers out.

“I could ask the same question, bitch.” She’d spat, and the words came out low and unnatural, a voice not her own.

“Heather?” The now-ghost’s eyes widened to saucers.

“Yeah, no shit, Sherlock.”

“Ohhhhh, fuck.”

“Mhm.”

“Veronica!” Mac called.

“Shit, let me back!” Veronica had reached toward Chandler.

Her hand passed right through. Chandler felt a jolt run through her body and it chilled her to the bone. She finally understood why Veronica’d asked her to stop doing that.

The both of them froze before looking at each other with a clear look of “Shit.” on their faces.

Chandler blinked. She turned from Veronica and began to walk towards the other Heathers, stumbling over her feet at first, trying to get a hold on how to act as a physical being again, but confidence returning with each step. Veronica felt a tug, and got dragged along with her as the two made their way over.

“Veronica! Oh, there you are.”

“Well, uh. It’s… not really Veronica right now.”

“What? Wh-“ the realization struck her as she whispered, “Heather?”

Chandler smiled, nodding, "You didn't think you'd get rid of me that easily, did you?"

"I... But how? Is it really you?" The hope in her voice warmed Chandler's heart. Or Veronica’s- she wasn't really sure anymore.

"It's me." Chandler assured her, "I... I don’t know how it happened but I… Borrowed... Veronica's body"

“I’d like it back no matter how it happened.” The newly-spirit huffed.

“Whatever. How’s Heather?” Chandler scanned the room before widening her eyes at the still-unconscious Duke still in the tub, fresh blazer on, but her features pale and sunken, etched into her face. It was clear that she’d gone through a lot. “Oh shit.”

“Yeah.” Mac nodded solemnly.

“Wait, so what happened?”

“I thought you were, like, watching over us?”

“Well, yeah, but I just kinda… glitched out, I guess, when that happened. I don’t remember anything.” Her voice was low, and far kinder than the ones she used with Veronica.

“Oh. So, we went to the woods ‘coz we didn’t have… any potions, you know, and we did… the thing… and JD-“

Her eyes narrowed. “Motherfucking red-dawn ass bitch. What’d he do?” She asked, and though the answer was clear, the question still hung in the air between the two. Mac felt tears prick at her eyes and it wasn’t long before they grew to full-blown sobs.

"Whoa, calm down," Chandler frowned, "What's your damage?"

“I- I didn’t notice JD following us, it- it’s my fault that Heather got shot. I could’ve stopped him, I should’ve stopped him, it would’ve been so easy! But I didn’t and now Heather’s hurt, and- and I should’ve payed attention, like- like,”

“Heather, it’s okay, it’s not your fault. Even if you didn’t notice, there’d be no way to talk to her as a wolf, right, Heather?” She began to rub soft circles on the shorter (now much shorter) girl’s back, a feeble attempt to soothe her.

The blonde nodded, shaking slightly less before looking into Chander’s eyes and bursting into another fit of tears, “Eve- even if you’re right, I was so stupid, I fell for how happy you looked with being popular, I didn't see you were in pain," she cried out, "I should've seen it! I should've seen you were in trouble... I failed you, Heather. I'm so sorry!"

Chandler blinked, taken aback by the girls words and tears, "Heather... It wasn't your fault, you didn't 'fail' me"

"Yes, it was! That's what friends do: they notice things!" McNamara insisted, hugging Chandler as tightly as she could, "They're there for each other. They see what parents and other people don't... You've both always had my back and I didn't have either of yours."

Chandler could feel tears start to roll down her own face, “I- I don’t know about Heather, but for me- it- it… I know it wasn't your fault. I- I didn't want you or anyone else to see how I really felt... It was like the world itself was a bad dream, Heather." she whispered, trying her best to keep her composure, but she knew Veronica could hear every word and her quivering voice in that small bathroom, "I was sad. I was sad all the time and the sadness was so heavy that I didn't think I could get away from it... Not ever.”

"But you could have!" Mac cried harder, "If... If Veronica and I knew about it, we could've done something!"

"There... There were days that I thought I was okay, or at least that I was going to be." Chandler spoke, voice gentle in a way Veronica had never heard before, "We'd all be hanging out somewhere and everything would just... Fit. And I would think 'it will be okay. Maybe it can just be like this forever'... But nothing can ever stay just how it is forever. Something would always happen and I would always suffocate again."

"I thought about you every day since you died." The yellow dressed girl sniffed, "I kept going through every single moment, every thing you all said to me, every sign I missed." Veronica could feel tears trailing down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry I left without telling you," Chandler rubbed the blonde's back gently, "I wasn't ready. I wanted it so much, but I wasn't ready to tell you."

"Are you ready now?" McNamara asked, voice meek.

“I- I… I have to be.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> why. why. why. why. why did i do this. i forgot to send this to my friend who usually beta-reads (is that the right term?) my things this week so its kinda awful lmao
> 
> i took a lot of that last bit from "We are OK" by vintaasdez, (which is an absolutely fantastic fic that i reccomend to anyone who likes what ive written.) since i cant write sappy stuff very well haha. 
> 
> have an amazing day! :)


	17. Chapter 17

Mac frowned. “How’re we gonna fix this? It’s been like an hour, Heather is still out cold, and Veronica’s… A ghost now?”

“An annoying one, too.” Chandler smirked. “But you’re right. Got any ideas for figuring this… _mess_ out?”

“The book!”

“What book?”

“Oh, right. Uhh, how do I explain this? Heather has a family library, right? And so we were looking through it and she had a book about supernatural stuff. It was pretty cool.”

“Huh. Where is it?”

“I'll go look for it. If I can't find it today, I'll give it to you tomorrow.”

Mac rushed out of the room, and no more than a minute later, Duke stirred from her place in the bathtub.

“_Wh-?_ What? Where? Who?” She began groggily speaking, eyes still closed and hands reaching around to find a hold.

Chandler grabbed her hands and helped the girl up and out. The green girl blinked open her eyes slowly, squinting for a moment before her eyes adjusted to the bright fluorescent lights. A look of complete confusion flitted across her face for a moment.

“Where the _fuck_? How am I not dead? What the ever-loving _fuck_?”

“_Shh_. You’re fine, Heather. Vampire, remember? We tested this? You were drunk and jumped off the old mill bridge that one time to see if you were actually that indestructible and you were fine.”

“Wait, Veronica? How’d you know that?”

“Oh, no. This isn’t Veronica. Why don’t you take a wild guess who’s in today?” She raised an eyebrow, teasingly grinning at Duke.

“Hmmm.” She rolled her eyes. “Heather?” She joked, but the slight nod from the girl sent a shiver down her spine.

  
“Miss me?”

“Wait, how?”

“Do I look like I know?”

“If _you’re_ Heather… then where’s Veronica?”

“We swapped, basically. She’s the ghost now.”

“Huh.” Confused, Duke looked up and her brows furrowed as if she were doing calculations in her mind.

“Haven’t been able to go back, though. Mac’s getting a book.”

“God, this is so weird. I know it’s you but you’re… also Veronica and I just- it feels strange.”

“Yeah. Imagine having to interact with shit for the first time in like, a week. It’s so much worse.”

“Tch. I imagine.”

Veronica watched as the rest of the day, and the next morning passed in a blur- it was, unsurprisingly, easy to disassociate when there weren’t any things to stub your toe on or yell at you to distract you. The Heathers were discussing how to fix the mess between Veronica and Chandler, now that they couldn’t seem to swap back, and it got to midnight without any clear answers. The book held no ideas either, despite its long pages on ghosts and other spirits.

It had come to being lunch, and they were still that way, Chandler trying, and failing, to act as the fairly shrewd and quiet Veronica. Her last “Shut _up_, Heather!” Had drawn quite a few stares, and the blue ghost to laugh.

“You really think that’s how I act?” She snickered, leaning into Chandler’s face, which reddened slightly as she mumbled “Shut the fuck up.” Under her breath.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Veronica, Heather, and-“ a confused look flashed across his face for a moment before returning to his usual cool demeanour. “_Heather_.” he raised an eyebrow and grinned.

“Leave us alone. Again, forever.” Mac muttered quietly, fists clenched.

“Oh no, I think I may have some more… business with you three.”

“Leave. Us. Alone.” She said, voice quivering and tears beginning to prick at her eyes again.

“Alright, alright.” He held up his hands in mock surrender, and walked away backwards with a wink.

“God, what a creep.” Duke rolled her eyes.

Veronica’s frown deepened as she watched JD’s malicious grin from the corner of the cafeteria. She glared at his dumb fucking face, making sure he didn’t try to do anything. Chandler pulled her along to the normal rendezvous.

“Alright, I got the book.” Mac pulled out the scuffed tome from her backpack.

“Great. Did you find anything?” With a grin, Chandler leaned against the wall and crossed her arms.

“Well…”

“What is it?” She snapped.

“T- there’s one way tha- that this possession thing could happen, b- but-“ stuttering, Mac twisted her hair around her fingers nervously, eyes flitting around the room as she pursed her lips. They lingered around the exit for a second before she shook her head and looked at Chandler, who shouted a “Just tell us already!”.

“_It would mean Veronica isn’t human!_”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh sweet lord how did it come to this
> 
> it was just writing practice HOW DID IT COME TO THIS
> 
> anyways, have a nice day! hope you have a nice week! :)


	18. Chapter 18

“I- It _what_?” Chandler and Veronica screeched in perfect unison.

“Shush! Shshshhshhhhhhh we’re in public, Chandy, please be quiet.”

“Fine, fine. And don’t call me that, there are other people here.”

“Hnh? What?” Duke stirred, looking up from her book.

“But what?

“Nothing. Go back to reading.”

“Mmn. A’ight.”

“So, Mara, explain.”

“Well, I- uh, was flipping through it, right? And this one page caught my eye, since it had stuff about ghosts, right, and spiri-“

“Get on with it, please.”

“Right. Err… here.” Mac thrust the book into Chandler’s arms, quickly covering her mouth with her hands, waiting for her reaction. The older girl rolled her eyes and read the text near the bottom of the yellowed, worn page.

Mediums are similar to humans in many ways. In fact, until they ‘Awaken’, they are indistinguishable from Ordinaries. The average Medium has the ability to see, hear, and speak to ghosts. Some have the ability to touch ghosts, and even rarer is the power to be possessed by spirits.

Chandler blinked. _But… I’m not dead! It’s just the potion. Right? Right?_

“Flip the page!” Veronica hissed.

Shocked, the girl obliged, and continued on.

Known Mediums always reach a point in their lives called their ‘Awakening’. This occurs when the subject Medium encounters their first supernatural effect, for example if they are feeling strong emotions near an area of death such as a graveyard or battlefield, they may begin to see ghosts, or if they are possessed by a spectre, though unlikely, that would act as an ‘Awakening’ as well.

Once this occurs, the Medium obtains all their abilities within a short window of time.

One common misconception has less to do with actual Mediums but rather what constitutes a ‘ghost’. There are two main types of ghosts- natural ghosts and artificial ghosts. Mediums can interact only with natural ghosts, which are spirits that do not pass onto the realm of the dead. Artificial ghosts are those made by magic or potionery, and can not possess, speak to, or touch Mediums.

“_What the fuck?_”

“I’m not human?” Veronica whispered, mouth agape and eyes wider than saucers. Her whispers turned to murmurs turned to shouts and screams. “I’m not human? _NOT_ _HUMAN?_ Oh, JD should just come and kill me now then! Get it out of the way! Just go ahead and fucking stab me or something!” Her screams were interrupted every so often by maniacal laughs.

“Veronica. Veronica- Veronica, please-“

“No! JD might as well just blow us all up with how this is going! Hey, none of us might be human, y’know?” She cackled, and whipped around, screaming in Chandler’s ear. “Hell, who fuckn’ knows if Mr. Psychopath himself is human? Eh?”

“Veronica- Veronica, I’m begging you, please be quiet.” Holding her hands to her ears, Chandler pleaded.

“How ‘bout you shut up for once, you _bitch!_” Her voice wavered and cracked, rage and sadness pricking at her eyes. She jabbed her thumb into Chandler’s chest- and the world spun again. A white-hot shiver ran through her thumb up and down her spine and her surroundings blurred and flipped and swirled around her. She felt like she was melting, as if she was turning into dust for just a moment before falling into a swirling vortex. Her eyes were forced shut, and it felt like a far stranger version of the last time this had happened.

She entered into her body with a gasp.

An all-too familiar freezing, a cold and numbing feeling spread through Chandler. She opened her eyes. Everything was the right colour again. It felt just right- well, just wrong.

“The fuck?”

“What just-“ Mac stammered, looking between the two figures.

“I’m back. I’m back!” Veronica grinned and hugged the confused girl tightly.

“You’re… back?”

“Yes, yes, yes!”

The two embraced, but Veronica began to feel tears roll down her cheek from her flurry of emotions.

“Hey, woah, what the fuck-“ Duke, hearing the sobs, shoved her book back in her backpack and sat down near the two.

“Veronica’s back! But she’s crying.” Mac’s face twisted into a grimace.

“Wait, what?”

The yellow-clad girl nervously ran her fingers through Veronica’s hair. She took a deep breath before explaining everything that had been happening.

“Holy fuck.”

“Yeah.”

“Tell me more, what do we do now?”

"We'll figure that out when we get to it."

“Where’s Duke?”

Veronica looked around, glanced at her watch and her eyes widened. “Shit, we’re late for class.” She grabbed Mac’s hand and pulled her out of the room, running to class. Glancing through the hallways, she caught a glimpse of black and froze. JD was crouched, doing something beneath a water fountain. A quiet gasp from behind her confirmed that it was him, and seeing him slowly turn with a malicious grin, quickly turned tail.

“We’re skipping class.”

“What? No-“

“What class does Heather have right now?”

“Uhh, AP lit, I think.”

“Great. Let’s go.”

After pulling confused Duke out of her classroom, the trio ran over to the green jeep parked outside the school and began zipping down the street.

“Where are we going?” Duke asked, rubbing her eyes.

“Away from that psychopath JD.”


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw but its stuff that happened in the musical so ur... probably?? fine??????

“God, what’s he up to now?” Duke yawned.

“Fuck if I know.” Veronica pulled into her driveway, the house a pale blue. Pulling everyone else out of the car and up to her bedroom, sneaking past her parents, she sighed. “Okay. Where’s the book?”

“Here.” Mac rifled through her bag and sat down next to the others so they could all read it.

Pulling her finger down the table of contents, Veronica heard a gasp. A pointer finger jabbed into the paper. “Look!”

Monster Hunters - Page 87

Duke flipped to the page, reading quietly out loud.

“Monster hunters are, in fact, technically not human. Upon the purposeful murder of a monster, the magical energy held by said monster can be transferred to the individual human who committed the murder, resulting usually in weak versions of that monster’s powers. Some common powers given by this method include the capacity to activate nearby monster’s abilities at will. This is given most often by killing a Snallygaster, a common ritual for groups of monster hunters, due to the sheer use of that ability.”

“Oh frick.”

“Heh. Guess I was right. Mr. Psychopath isn’t human either.”

“Shush! Listen.

“Additionally, the talent of extraordinary strength, speed and endurance are also widespread due to the sheer quantity of monsters with those powers. Children of monster hunters may inherit some of their parent’s abilities.”

“Well shit.”

“Okay, so basically we’re dealing with an experienced monster hunter with magical parents who could probably kill all of us with a moment’s notice. Great.”

The familiar sound of a roaring motorcycle in the distance made a chill run up Veronica’s spine.

“He’s coming.”

“Who? JD?”

“_HIDE!_” Veronica grabbed both of their wrists, the roar growing louder and louder and her own pounding heartbeat pounding against her skull, she yanks them into her closet, slamming the door behind them just in time to hear the scratching of JD climbing up the winding oak outside her window.

”_Veronicaaaa_” he called, this time not even needing to break the lock, simply pulling open the window and slipping through.

“What?”

“I have a plan! A perfect plan! Well, possibly. I think I have a plan. It took a lot of work and it’ll take a lot of luck but when it all comes through, it’ll be worth it.”

  
  
“JD? What are you talking about?” her voice wavered, fear clearly seeping into her words.

“Well at first I thought it was just Heather Chandler, right? And then, I find out about Heather McNamara, the werewolf!”

“W- what do y- _what do you mean?_”

“Oh, didn’t you know? Your pristine little girlfriend Mac-“ he spat out the name like it was poison, and in the closet, the yellow girl flinched. “-is a monster.”

“What?”

“I thought to myself, how lucky can I be? Two monsters in one school? And then- and then, on the night where I tried to kill her, I accidentally shot your friend the other Heather instead.”

“But-“

“Exactly. She’s still alive. But I shot her right through her heart, so there’s no way she’s human either!”

“W-“

“Every single _fucking_ place I turn, there’s another monster here in Westerburg. So, I’ll just get ‘em all at once! Two birds, one stone! Or, in this case, about a thousand birds and one very, very, _very_ impressive explosive.”

  
  
“An explosive?” She whispered, her eyes wide and her heart sinking to her feet.

“Yep! A special one I myself cooked up in my very own basement, especially for killing everything and everyone, including monsters! What can I say other than… Tonight our school is Vietnam, baby.”

“Why are you telling me this, JD?”

“Because I trust you, Veronica. We were meant to be together.”

“How do you think you’re gonna pull this off, anyway?”

“Let’s just say you’re my date to the pep rally tonight.”

  
  
“The pep rally? Oh my _god_, the pep rally.”

“Exactly, clever girl. We can watch the smoke pour out of the doors, we can make s’mores with the fire, it’ll be great! Now open the door.”

Veronica shivered and quickly turned to the Heathers, gesturing to hide. Once she was the only on visible, she took a bedsheet from the top shelf and fashioned it into a knot.

“Veronica, open the door.”

Her hands fumbled and caught as she wrapped it around her waist.

“Veronica, don’t make me come in there.”

She looked up and saw a hook in the ceiling. She wrapped the noose loosely around her throat and tossed it up. It missed.

“I’m gonna count to three. One-“

  
  
Again. It missed.

“Two-“

It latched onto the hook and she grinned, securing the other end.

“Fuck it-“

JD slammed open the door, his expression going from malicious to shock and terror in moments. Veronica, in her normal blue blazer, looking perfectly normal other than the fact that she was a few inches off the ground.

“Veronica, _no!_ You were the only one here I could trust! I can’t do this alone- but it looks like I’ll have to.”

JD left, the sounds of the bike receding away once again, the smell of gasoline dissipating into the air.

“Hey, Veronica, quick thinking but how did you know how to do that so quickly?”

“Don’t ask.”

  
  
“But-”

“We have to stop him.”

“Let’s go.”

Speeding back down the same road, following the jet black motorcycle all the way to the school. They watched from afar as JD pulled a duffel bag from his locker, grinning and walking towards the gym, checking around before kicking open a Do Not Enter door and descending a dark stairwell.

Veronica turned to Duke and Mac, and watched as Chandler flickered into existence behind them. “Let’s go.”

They followed down the gloomy staircase, light flickering reddish orange, and as everything got brighter, the heat became sweltering.

“Put the bomb down.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oooooooooh the c o n c l u s i o n is coming babey im so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> brace yourself for the next chapter bro. good luck


	20. Chapter 20

on indefinite hiatus. i apologize. i'm no longer really in the fandom, and having lost interest i don't think that i could finish this.


End file.
